Fae
by chewybillabong
Summary: Mikan never questioned why she lived isolated from everyone else, but when her Grandpa goes missing, she suddenly comes to terms with her real identity with the help of her best friend, Hotaru. Natsume never wanted to be a prince. Especially because his father was the one who rid the world of everyone's magic. Full summery inside. R&R {DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN GAKUEN ALICE!}
1. Summery

SUMMERY -

She never questioned why she lived isolated from everyone else, but when her Grandpa goes missing, she suddenly comes to terms with her real identity with the help of her best friend, Hotaru.

He never wanted to be a prince. Especially because his father was the one who rid the world of everyone's magic. When he embarks on a quest to bring back the rightful heir back to the throne, he realizes that it might be harder than he thought. With only an old book and his friends, can he find the lost princess? Can he rid the evil tyrant from the world known as Ioran Hyuuga?


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

***************In the Hyuuga Kingdom**************

Natsume barged into the room, bashing the dark oak doors open. The darkness of the black room quickly subsiding from years of experience as his angry gaze locked on its target. He quickly strode towards the long wooden table in the middle of the room, heading for the man who sat at the head. The sound of his black leather boots filled the silence of the council meeting he had just interrupted. The members shrank in fear in their seats as Natsume walked by who didn't even spare a glance at the squirming council members.

"What is the meaning of this?! Ordering that another prison be built?! Why?! Isn't the amount of slaves digging up your gold in the Ardward prisons enough?! Half of the people there are innocent!" Barely controlled anger laced his voice as his crimson red eyes glittered as he stood before his father.

"Watch whom you're talking to, boy. You may be his son but that is no way to address the King of the Hyuuga Kingdom." A voice rasped.

Natsume's burning gaze shifted to the man seated on the king's right hand side. Minister Kurosawa. The weasel haired man stared back at Natsume, amusement glittering in his small beady black eyes. Minister Kurosawa shifted his gaze back to the King and so did Natsume. The King's cold steely gaze locked with his son's.

"The slaves in Ardward are either fae, helpers of the fae or family of the fae." His voice boomed around the room and the flames of the torches flickered.

Natsume's eyes narrowed down to slits. "This is what this is all about?! The fae?! _You_ banned all magic! Hell, you _got rid of_ all magic! What chance does a fae have against you?! They can hardly protect themselves from the guards that whip them!" He voiced his frustration and ran a hand through his dark as midnight, raven coloured hair.

"If I didn't keep them in a prison then they would strike back and have a rebellion. It would be a massacre. I would have been slaughtered and as my heir to the throne so would you. You of all people should know that, Natsume." His own cold scarlet eyes met the crimson ones of his son's. Each had an unmatchable fury contained within.

"The Yukihara's would never have allowed it." His father's eyes flashed with a warning.

"The Yukihara's are all dead." His father mirthlessly laughed, the sound echoing around the chamber.

"Only because you killed them." Natsume replied bitterness leaking out.

"That may be true," Minister Kurosawa's raspy voice filled the room, "but their daughter's body was never found." He looked towards the King for permission to continue before going on, "If the legends are true, they say that for every fae slaughtered, the families of the slaughtered go stronger and that they absorb the deceased's magic. It that is indeed true and that the daughter of the Yukihara's didn't die, and then she would have absorbed both and all of her parent's powers. If she survived then she would be a threat to the King. If she did survive then anybody that took her in as she was dying would have recognized her and the guards that went to every house, sorting through all of the owners belongings, would have killed that person and the daughter. But there are rumours that shouldn't be possible. They say that she still lives and is arranging an underground army of fae and plans to launch an attack on the-"

"Minister Kurosawa that is enough." The Kings voice echoed yet again around the silent chamber as the other members of the council just watched in a terrified silence. "Please refrain from filling my son's head with foolish nonsense on a little girl who doesn't exist. How you got that information, I don't know, but if I hear that you've been telling other people this, you'll be joining the prison that you created. This meeting is over. You are all dismissed." He stood up and the rest of the court followed.

Natsume lingered in the back of the room and narrowed his eyes as Minister Kurosawa approached him.

"They saw that she her voice is melodic that any man who walks by as she sings, falls for her. I don't exactly remember her name but it was a fruit. Maybe it was apple. She was called the apple in her mother's eye. I don't know if this will help you at all but they say that she's hiding in the border of the Old Yukihara Kingdom." His raspy voice explained quickly, his eyes flicking from the door back to Natsume's.

"And why are you telling me this exactly?" Suspicion was evident on Natsume's face.

A look of pure bliss the ministers face, "As much as I like this position as the King's minister, it doesn't change the fact that he is a ruthless, bloody murder. I should know as much, he killed my love." The bliss disappeared and pain etched it's self across his face before being replaced with anger. "Well, I'll take my leave then." He smiled, his crooked yellow teeth shining. "If anyone can do it, it's you." He left, his red and black ministers cloak flowing out behind him leaving Natsume alone with a thousand thoughts running through his head as he made his way back to his room.

He sent for a maid to deliver messages to his closest friends to meet him in his room. He opened the door and made sure to leave it unlocked as he sat on the edge of the chest at the foot of his bed contemplating what Minister Kurosawa had just previously told him, as he eagerly awaited the arrival

Could it be true? Could the princess of the Old Yukihara Kingdom still be alive? He massaged his temples. There could still be hope. How long ago was that story? About 10 years ago? That means that she's around the same age as me. So we're looking for a girl who's around the same age as me and has a name similar to apple. What did the Yukihara's look like, again? Natsume walked over to his bookshelf scanning the spines until he came across the one that he was looking for. THE YUKIHARA LINEGE. His eyes scanned the book's yellowy pages until he came upon a picture of the Yukihara's carrying a baby. The baby had fuzzy chestnut brown hair and wore a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Her eyes. He couldn't quite place it. It was a mixture of a light brown and a dark gold. He continued studying the picture as a knock sounded at his door.

"Huh?" a gasp escaped Natsume's mouth. That's right he'd invited them over. "Come in."

The door opened revealing four males around the same age as Natsume. They were all blondes beside a lone raven haired boy.

One was blonde with ocean blue eyes; he wore a blue tunic over white collared long-sleeved undershirt with black pants boots. He was the stable boy. "Was there a reason you called us? Are you feeling ill, Natsume?"

His voice was sweet and his expressive blue eyes showed concern.

"No. I'm fine, Ruka. You are all familiar with the Yukihara's legacy's story, right?"

All of them furrowed their eyes. "Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Another one of the blondes spoke up. He wore an expensive looking purple tunic over a light blue collared long-sleeved shirt, white pants and black drees shoes. He had a pair of round circular glasses resting on his nose. He was the chief-adviser-to-be when Natsume gained the throne.

Natsume stared at him. "Yuu, what if the stories were true?"

"Which one are you talking about? Besides, the stories you hear from the gossips are never true. _Especially_ when it's about the Yukihara's." A male with dark blue hair and a star under his left eye answered. He had navy dark blue eyes and wore a white long-sleeved undershirt underneath a black blazer with a navy blue lining.

"Tsubasa's right you know." The last person who hadn't spoken yet said. He wore a red, yellow and blue jester suit complete with the hat, shoes and bells. He was a jester.

"You do realise that you can't believe any gossip without verifying it right." Ruka said turning to Natsume.

"That's exactly what we're going to do. Tomorrow morning we'll leave to go to the border of the Old Yukihara Kingdom." Natsume declared.

"Eh?!" All boys shouted at the same time.

"But, we can't go outside in these clothes. We'd be spotted immediately." Pointed out Tsubasa who was staring at Koko's jester outfit as he shifted his feet causing the small yellow bells on his hat, shoes and waist to jingle.

"I'll order for someone to make you some commoner's clothes."

"Why? What are you trying to do?" Yuu asked curiously.

"I'm think it's time I tried to find the lost Princess."

"What?! But why?" Koko asked surprised.

"I don't think that my 'dad' should have the throne. It belongs to the Yukihara's and if I can find a way to dethrone him, aka: finding the rightful heir, I'll use every lead I can get. Even if they all come to dead ends, I least I can tell myself that I tried." Natsume replied nonchalantly.

"But what if we don't find her? We don't even know her name." Yuu spluttered.

"We'll come back and pretend that we never went looking for her and went to visit the commoners as a practical fieldtrip. And anyway her name is something fruity."

"What like Yuzu, Airi, Kyou, Momoka or Umay?" Koko snorted.

"Exactly." Natsume replied.

Ruka looked at Natsume, observing his reactions. "We don't know what she looks like." He stated as his friends eyes found his.

"That's where you're wrong." His eyes glinted like they did when he was excited. "I found a book that has pictures of the girl." He gestured to the book in his hand. He opened it to the page of the picture of the family and everyone saw the smiling baby. "She looks just like her mother. If she still looks like her mother then there's a possibility that we can still find her."

Everybody sighed in defeat as Natsume smirked triumphantly before leaving to pack their bags for the big journey that lay ahead of them tomorrow.

***One the border of the Old Yukihara Kingdom***

A girl with chestnut brown hair tied with two ribbons into pigtails, sat at the edge of the ravine contemplating a tough decision. She began picking the pink flowers off the ground that grew around her and placing it into her lap. Her slender fingers played with the soft petals of the flowers as her brown eyes sparkled. She stared at the ravine, its water gently flowing and the grey pebbles glistening beneath the surface. She leaned back and bowed her head until she was lying down, the lush grass ticking her neck and scratching at her arms and legs where her blue dress stopped. She lifted a flower above her head, from her lap and slowly began picking off the petals.

"Yes. No. Yes. No. I will. I won't. I will. I won't. I will." her sweet voice filled the crisp spring air around her, floating away like a leaf caught in a breeze. She sat upright, "I will! I'll go after Grandpa!" She sat back down and shielded her face from the bright sun. She contemplated what she should bring. She only had one horse. Even though the chestnut brown stallion was quite strong, she knew it wouldn't be able to carry much with her added weight.

She closed her eyes and savoured the moment of the sun shining on her face and the sound of the water from the ravine before standing up. She quickly brushed the remaining flowers and stray blades of grass off her dress before heading back to the cottage unaware that flowers that had just bloomed in a perfect ring around her were beginning to fade until there were none left to show that there had ever been there at all.

She entered her house and made a beeline for her bedroom. Mikan laid her spare clothes on her bed. Before putting some items back in the closet after considering that she didn't need them. She stretched her arms before getting back to the task at hand. She had filled up half of a small satchel with clothes and toiletries. She then gazed about her room before picking up a necklace that lay on the bedside table. It was an old gold locket that opened up to show two pictures. On the left was a picture of her mother and on the right was a picture of her father. They were both wearing crowns and big silly grins on their faces. A small smile graced her lips. It always amused her to think that even though at the time both her parents had been grown up, that they still dressed up as kings and queens. Under the portrait of her parents were their names. Yuka and Yuki. It saddened her to think that this was the only memento she had of them after they had been killed in a fire. She remembered it clearly, even though it had only taken place when she was a baby.

*Flashback*

 _Baby Mikan laughed clapping her hands in a jovial manner as her parents danced to the music that the musicians played with ease. After a while, her eyes grew tired and slowly fell as sleep enveloped her._

 _She woke to the rancid smell of smoke and unbearable heat of the fire. She started crying but her parents didn't wake up. Suddenly an explosion ripped through out the house as some of the roof beams collapsed. The bed was thrown across the room before hitting the open door. The baby was thrown in the other direction and crashed through the open window which surely had been closed before. The baby was thrown across the grass as the cool night air relieved her hot skin. Silently the baby fell back asleep unaware of the burning of her parents body's and the soft chuckling of a shadow as it left into the forest to report back to someone that the family was all dead._

*End Flashback*

She quickly pulled away from those thoughts and reminded herself that if it weren't for her grandpa she wouldn't still be alive. Although her grandpa wasn't really her grandfather, their relationship was one of a granddaughter and a grandfather. Her grandpa was her reason for doing what she was about to do. Every two months her grandfather left to go into a town to get more provisions. He usually stays there for a week or two but last time he went he stayed there for about a month. He still hadn't come back. Mikan was getting really worried about him so she decided to go to the town to look for him. Every year on her birthday, her grandfather would take her to the town and see her best friend, Hotaru.

She closed her satchel and went outside to the small stable. Her chestnut brown stallion greeted her with a neigh.

"Hello, Hinata." She greeted back. Hinata nuzzled her neck in reply. "Tomorrow we are going to go to the town and see Grandpa and Hotaru-chan again." Mikan whispered into his ear as she refreshed his water and bucket of oats. She looked away from the horse and to the stall next to it as she frowned. That's where her grandfather's horse, Sora, was kept.

Mikan exited the stables and returned to the house. She entered the kitchen and began preparing some meals for tomorrow's journey. She got out a loaf of bread and began slicing it before cutting up some cheese as well. After she finished she grabbed some water containers and headed outside towards the ravine to fill them up. After she finished she went back inside and placed all the provisions into a small reed basket before proceeding to bed after blowing out the single candle.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

***************In the Hyuuga Kingdom**************

All five boys lined up on horses outside the gate dressed in commoner's clothes with travel gear ready for departure. (In other words, wearing jeans and normal shirts.)

"You all ready?" Natsume asked as he climbed upon his horse, his companions doing the same.

They all nodded as the gate opened and the galloped out of the palace. They continued galloping until they reached a small clearing with a ravine.

"Let's follow the ravine. It'll probably lead us to the outskirts of the kingdom." They all nodded and slowed from a gallop to a canter, giving their horses time to catch their breath.

Suddenly Ruka noticed something from the corner of his eye. He abruptly stopped his horse and quickly back tracked until he came to what he saw. It was a rabbit. And it was injured. A soft gasp escaped from the boy's mouth.

"Ruka!" Tsubasa's voice shouted, "You okay there?"

"Huh?" Ruka said distractedly, "Oh, er, yes." He quickly picked up the poor rabbit and was surprised when it jerked. It was still alive! He quickly tore a bit of his shirt of and wrapped it around the baby rabbit's leg before placing it on his lap and cantering back to the others.

"Why'd you stop?" Koko asked curiously.

"I found an injured baby rabbit. I couldn't just leave it. It'd die."

"Wait, what if it has rabies?" Koko's eyes widened in mock panic.

"I'm pretty sure it doesn't. I don't even think rabbits can get it." Ruka said while frowning before he began examining the rabbit as Koko snorted in laughter. Yuu let out a quite chuckle as Tsubasa and Natsume just smirked.

Suddenly they entered a clearing with a small cottage and stable. They all stopped laughing. Even Koko payed attention. They quickly dismounted and crept stealthily to door. They all looked at Ruka as he quietly groaned and approached the door before knocking. They all leaned in as no one opened the door. Ruka looked to Natsume for approval before he opened the door. Everyone looked in before they confirmed that yes; in fact, there was no one in the cottage.

"Tsubasa, Yuu. Check the stables." Natsume ordered as they nodded and left.

Ruka walked in. It was a nice place. A nice place in the middle of nowhere. A nice place in a secluded area. His eyes narrowed. A perfect place to hide somebody and be sure that it would be unlikely to find this place. He turned to Natsume to see that he had already come in and had gone to what looked like a girl's bedroom.

Natsume picked up something that looked like a piece of paper and began examining it. While he examined it, Ruka started opening all compartments of a wooden wardrobe. The stuff was messily hanging on the hangers and strewn all over the floor of the wardrobe as if the person who owned it was searching for something. He examined the clothes and confirmed his earlier suspicion. This room was indeed a girl's room. A variety of dress drooped onto the hangers and stocking were on the floor of the wardrobe. He inwardly sighed at the mess. Natsume suddenly tapped Ruka's shoulder surprising him as he hit his head causing him to shout. Koko raced in quickly, thinking that something was wrong. Natsume handed Ruka the piece of paper he had been examining earlier. Koko curiously read of Ruka's shoulder.

 _Dear Grandpa,_

 _You haven't come back from the town for almost a month now. I'm starting to get really worried. I hope you're alright. If you're reading this right now then you have probably come back. Unfortunately, I have left to go to the town to look for you. I'll be staying with my best friend; you know the one that I see every year on my birthday? Hint! Her name starts with H! Anyway, I've taken Hinata with me. H said last time on my 14th birthday that I could visit her school the next time I saw her! Maybe while I wait for you I'll attend her school. I think that it's called Gakuen Alice or something like that. I'm leaving you some freshly baked bread and some left over cheese in case you get hungry, but I don't know if it'll be any good once you get it. Anyway I took enough food and water for me and Hinata. I also took some back up money as well. I hope you're okay and that you'll come get me soon. You're the best grandfather anyone could ever hope for! Even though you aren't my real one, I do hope that you'll continue being my grandfather._

 _Love as always, ~ M_

Koko whistled, "She could be the princess."

Natsume and Ruka nodded their heads in agreement.

"She probably is." Ruka said his gaze landing on Natsume. 'Come to think of it, how did you know that the princess was still alive?"

Natsume avoided Ruka's gaze.

"Natsume!" Ruka's voice held a warning in it. Natsume wouldn't put it pass him to do something terrible to make him say how he knew.

"Minister Kurosawa." Natsume muttered quietly.

Ruka made a strangled noise and Koko choked on his saliva.

"Did you just say Minister Kurosawa?" Ruka asked, not believing what his friend had just told him. Natsume avoided his gaze again. "Unbelievable. Natsume, he is your father's right hand man! You of all people should know that. I can't…" Ruka ran a hand through his hair and sputtered, "He could be watching us right now and now and tell the King that his own son is planning a rebellion against him."

"Who say what now?" Tsubasa's voice asked confused.

He and Yuu had come back to report that the stables were clear only to find a guilty looking Natsume, a shocked Koko and a very angry Ruka.

Ruka ran a hand through his hair again before turning to Natsume, "You deal with this." He exited the house and went back to the horses, leaving Natsume to deal with everything.

"What's Ruka so angry about?" Tsubasa asked curiously.

"Kurosawa told Natsume that the princess is still alive so that's why we're all going on a journey to find her. Ruka's angry because he thinks that Kurosawa cannot be trusted." Koko blurted out then shivered and weakly said sorry as his eyes meet Natsume's glare.

"I got to say Natsume; I'm sorta disappointed in you." Yuu said shaking his head sadly.

"But as far as I'm concerned, the past is in the past. It doesn't matter how we ended up here but as long as we have a lead then we should keep trying to find what we're searching for." Tsubasa stated.

All the people in the room just stared at him as he sweat dropped.

"Wow Tsubasa! Didn't know you had it in you took make such a heart wrenching speech about whatever you were talking about." Koko made a teary eyed expression after slapping Tsubasa's back and leaning on his shoulder.

"Urg get off me! Your heavy you know that!"

They exited the cottage leaving everything left the way that they found it. They approached their horses before freezing abruptly and staring at Ruka who leaning against his horse, talking to it.

"Ha ha! I know what you mean. The grass is greener in somebody else's garden. Sometimes I wonder if he'll tell me what's wrong, I mean, it's not as bad in your case but-"

The horse let out a long whinny. And for a moment they all though that they had been found out.

"I know but that doesn't make it any less difficult! Leaving the palace to try and find someone that none of us know just seems so absurd! I didn't even have time to say good bye to her."

If they weren't fully frozen before, now they were. Her? Ruka had a girlfriend?

The horse sighed before turning away leaving Ruka to his own thought before letting out a quick, sharp whinny.

"Huh? She did?" Ruka said distracted before staring at something behind the horse.

They followed his gaze and saw Tsubasa's horse standing there.

"Go! Here's your chance! Ask her!" Ruka said suddenly excited.

Ruka's horse nuzzled Tsubasa's and before long they began mating.

"Ah no! My beautiful horse!" Tsubasa said before flicking his gaze back to Ruka and laughing.

"Fudge! What were you guys doing there?! Were you planning on giving me a heart attack?!"

Everyone besides Ruka and Tsubasa chuckled before Koko broke the silence.

"Hey, were you actually talking to that horse?"

Ruka shifted his feet nervously and gazed at them uneasily. Should I tell them I was? Would they harm me for having magic when no one else should? His thoughts bounced off the walls of his head.

Koko stared at him hard before answering Ruka's thoughts, "Yes you should tell us. Does it look like we'll harm you? We've all been friends since we were in diapers!"

Ruka blinked. "Did I just say all of that out loud?"

Koko's grinned widened. "I dunno. It gets hard to determine the difference between thoughts and words. Am I right?"

Yuu and Ruka stared at him unsure and Natsume and Tsubasa furrowed their brows trying to see what Koko was talking about.

"Never mind. Ruka you were about to say why you were talking to a horse?" Koko divereted.

"Ah. You won't believe me if I tell you." Ruka laughed awkwardly.

"Try us." Tsubasa smirked.

"Before Natsume's dad took the throne, I had the power to communicate with animals. Control them even. But I kept it a secret. But when he banned magic, I didn't completely lose it all. I just can't control animals anymore but I can still talk and understand them."

Koko smile lessoned a bit before he started talking, "I've been keeping a secret too. Before Ruka, I thought that I was the only person that the King's power hadn't got through. I don't know what I would call mine though. Before the King used his power I was able to talk in people's minds, read people's mind, and show them images and everything connected to that. But now the only thing I can do is read their minds."

Tsubasa's eyes widened before he thought about what Koko said. "As long as we are confessing whatever awesome powers we had then lost, I'd like to share mine. Shadow manipulation. Before I could control anyone's shadow without having to lift a finger. Now I have to physically move to step on their shadow with my foot and then only then can I control them."

Everyone turned to Yuu. "I-I-illusion. I can only make pictures now."

'Fire," Natsume said lighting a small flame on the tip of his finger, "But unlike you guys, I've had full control of it before and after except it has a bigger impact on me. It takes more energy to use it."

There was an awkward silence as everyone allowed each other to accept the fact that they all retained some or all of their powers.

Yuu broke the silence, "If we all retained some of our powers, then the kings power must be weakening or less than we had expected it to be."

"If that's the case then we need to find her whilst the king is still weak or before he has less power"

On the outskirts of the Yukihara Kingdom

~~~~~~~~With Mikan ~~~~~~~~

Today was a big day! Today was going to be the day that Mikan leave to go to find Grandpa and Hotaru! She wore white and red leather riding pants, a white short-sleeved blouse and a white floor length travelling cloak, with red trimmings. She finished her breakfast and left the cheese and bread out in case that her Grandpa came back and left a note for him on her neatly made bed. She felt like she was forgetting something. Oh! Her bow and arrows! Mikan ran back to her bedroom and opened her wardrobe. She searched through her once tidy wardrobe until she found her bow and arrow set. Last year, on her birthday, Hotaru got her a travelling cloak, riding pants and bow and arrow kit. Hotaru had said that the arrows were special and that Mikan was never to use them unless her life was in danger. She slung quiver (the thing that holds the arrows) over her shoulders and then slung the bow over as well so that the string piece was across her chest. Mikan left her room, silently apologising for not cleaning up her wardrobe, and grabbed her satchel and left the cottage, giving it one last look before heading over towards the stables. She took the saddle of the wall and began saddling up Hinata. She attached the satchel to the front fork of the saddle and climbed aboard. She trotted Hinata to the middle of the meadow, allowing him to get a quick drink of water before heading onto their journey.

"Heya!" Mikan kicked his flank lightly and he started galloping. She guided him through the trees and onto a small dirt road. _If we continue this pace, they we just get there before nightfall!_ After a couple of hours, she noticed Hinata getting tired so she slowed him down from a gallop into a slow canter, into a fast trot, into a brisk walk. Suddenly Mikan spied a couple of moving figures moving quietly and stealthily along either side of me. She slowed a bit and they did as well. She went a bit faster and then so did they _. My instincts were right they were following me!_ She stopped in the middle of the dirt road and slowly reached for her crossbow as they crashed from either side of her. They glared as they pulled out knives from their sheaths wrapped across their waists. Mikan silently thanked herself for putting on the bow and arrows. She closed one eye and aimed at the figure who was about to fling his knife at her. She shot her arrow at his hand as the blue metal tip hit the knife causing the figures wrist to snap back violently. What she didn't expect to happen was for a thin layer of ice to start to form around the figures hand and start to travel up his arm. The guttural yelp that was shouted out from the figure confirmed her earlier unsaid idea about him being a male. The ice started to thicken until it was several inches thick and was encased around the entire figure. A small puff of frost came out of where the male's mouth was confirming he was completely frozen. The other figure screamed.

"You monster!" He then flung to knives at her, their sharp tips glinting in the sunlight.

She ducked the first one and jumped over the second one before shooting an arrow at the man. It pierced his right thigh and blood started to spurt out. The man howled in pain as the blood that had started to run down his leg began to freeze and the same thing happened to the other man that happened to this one.

She quickly climbed back onto Hinata and they galloped away from the scene of the crime. _I wonder who those men were._ She focussed on guiding Hinata along the road and away from all the large looking boulders that littered the path.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

***************With Natsume**************

They were going along the well-worn dirt and rock road when Tsubasa gave a sharp shout.  
"Hey Natsume! What's the blue thing glittering in the distance? Is it a water hole? We could let our horses have a drink and rest there.

Natsume considered his idea before nudging his horse to go a little bit faster. The others took that as their cue and they raced to the water hole. They stopped short a few meters away from the 'water hole'. It turned out actually be two male figures encased entirely in ice. Natsume and everyone else got off their horses to examine the figures.

"Natsume, there's something wrong with these figures. I can't quite put my finger on it but I can tell that Usagi can feel it as well." Ruka asked a concerned hitch to his usual tone.

"There's no water," Yuu said softly, "I mean it's the middle of the day but there's no water dripping off the ice."

Natsume furrowed his eyes before lighting a small fire next to one of the figures. Almost immediately, the ice broke up into jagged pieces and flew away from the figures straight towards us. The Prince quickly drew up a massive wall of fire as the spears of ice pierced it. A low moan of pain resounded throughout the air as well as a small shriek. He cautiously put down the flames enough to see the two once frozen figures now very much alive. One had an arrow through his right thigh and the other had a small scratch on his right wrist. The one with the arrow through his thigh noticed us first.

"Who the fudge are you guys? Where's the red and white archer?"

"Excuse me, who?" Yuu asked confused.

"The one who froze my friend with her arrow and shot the other one through my thigh."

"We know not who you speak of. We are travellers from a far off country." Koko said in his most Shakespearean voice.

Both of the lads glared at him as he held up his hands in surrender sign. Natsume rolled his eyes.

"I'm Natsume. The stupid one over there is Koko. The boy holding the bunny is Ruka and the one with the glasses is Yuu. Oh, and that's Tsubasa." He said as an afterthought and pretended not to notice Tsubasa's glare.

"I'm Mochu and the other one's Kitsu. We attend Gakuen Alice." The boy with the arrow in his thigh said.

"Aren't you in pain?" Tsubasa asked quizzically.

"Huh? Oh. Ow! God the pain Do any of you guys have bandages or a healing alice?" Mochu shouted.

"What's a healing alice?" Ruka asked confused.

"God, have you guys been living under a rock?" Kitsu said speaking for the first time. His eyes narrowed, "Wait a moment. Natsume… Isn't that the name of the prince?"

Natsume could feel his palms start to sweat. He considered his options. _A: I could tell them I was named after the prince and pretend to be the son of some wealthy merchant but that could cause some problems as I have no silk or cotton with me. Or maybe…_

"Yes. I am Prince Natsume Hyuuga of the Hyuuga kingdom. But," He said quickly noticing how pale their faces turned, "That does not mean that I agree with my father's ways. I've come in search of the lost Yukihara princess. Do you know where she might be?"

"Isn't she already dead? Didn't your father kill her?' Kitsu said, if looks could kill, Natsume would have already of been dead from the power of Kitsu's glare.

"Dude!" Mochu punched Kitsu's shoulder, ignoring the fresh wave of pain that shot through his leg. "Haven't you heard the rumours? They say that Mikan Yukihara's raising an army to overthrow the king!"

 _Mikan? Of course! Tangerine! Not apple! Stupid Kurosawa. That must mean that the note really was from her!_

Kitsu crossed his arms over his chest, "You shouldn't believe everything Sumire tells you. Half of it is false like when she said that a prince and his companions would attend our school. I get that you used to have a crush on her but seriously, what are the chances that she would be right?"

"Duuuuuude! You didn't have to announce to the whole world that I liked Sumire! What if these guys are going to attend Gakuen Alice! What happens when they see who Sumire is and then they'll make fun of me for life!" Mochu shouted picturing an evil Natsume blackmailing him into doing whatever he wanted.

Natsume's head snapped up. _Did Mochu just say Gakuen Alice? Wasn't that the place the princess wrote about?_ He opened his mouth but Kitsu interrupted him.

"Mochu get serious. The prince wouldn't blackmail you. If anyone it would be Hotaru. Besides, they aren't going to enrol at Gakuen Alice right?" he turned to us.

"Actually, we are." Natsume said as Kitsu's mouth dropped open and Mochu started bawling. "Would you mind showing us the way?"

Kitsu looked at him suspiciously, "If you were planning to enrol, why don't you know the way?"

Ruka stepped forward holding a note in his hand. He handed it to Kitsu and watched as his eyes scanned it.

"Who wrote this?" He asked eventually, not looking up.

"We have reason to believe that the princess did." Ruka replied.

"Mochu! How many people in this school do you know whose name starts with H?" Kitsu asked eyes still focused on the paper.

"Uh… Hotaru Imai, Youichi Hijiri, Hoshio Hoshino, Misaki Harada, Hayate Matsudaira, Hayami, Hajime Yakumo and Hīmemiya. I think that's all..." he scratched the back of his head.

"Who's Hotaru?" Ruka asked.

"She's cold and cunning. She has the nickname as 'the Ice Queen'." He let out an involuntary shudder, "Chances of Mikan-sama being friends with her a very low." Kitsu frowned and absentmindedly rubbed his wrist before wincing and letting out a hiss.

"Well, let's get back to GA. Subara can treat us there." He turned to look at us, "You coming or not?" He turned but crumpled as soon as he put some pressure onto his bad thigh.

Rolling his eyes, Tsubasa scooped Mochu in to his arms and putting him on top of his horse.

"Lead the way, o' might one."

"Ne, Kitsu, would you like to ride with me?" Yuu asked politely.

Kitsu nodded and with that, we began our journey to 'Gakuen Alice.'

~~~~~~~~With Mikan~~~~~~~~

The town was very bright. That was the first thing she noticed as she rode into town on Hinata. Flashing neon lights were everywhere and people were talking into small black rocks. She couldn't help but be thankful that her hood was drawn and no one could see her because of all the weird and incredulous stares.

"Mamma! Look! It's a pony! The girl's riding a pony! Can I ride it to school?"

"No honey, wouldn't you prefer riding the car?"

"Is there a circus in town?"

"I wonder where she came from…"

Mikan felt her face turn pink and started to feel really hot. _I want to take of my cloak but letting everyone see what I looked like underneath makes me want to cringe._ Instead she leaned over towards a lady with blonde hair and purple eyes.

"Excuse me, but do you know where I can find Hotaru Imai?"

"Huh? Imai-san? Oh. I can take you there if you want." She recoiled in shock as she realised that the woman was a man.

'Eh, oh thank you!" She gasped and pulled Hinata alongside her, err him.

"May I ask what business you have with my pupil?"

"Pardon? Did you just say student?" she asked surprised.

"Yes. I'm a teacher at Gakuen Alice, Narumi-sensei. Hotaru-chan's my student."

"Oh, right. Well, I'm good friends with Hotaru. I haven't seen her since the beginning of last year and … something happened to me so I need to see her right away!'

Narumi chuckled, "You're a little too young to be getting into debts aren't you?"

Mikan blinked, "Debts? Why would I get a debt from Hotaru?"

"She's one of the most willing people I've met to hand out money, but for a price," He glanced at me, "Isn't that what you need from her? Money?"

She shrugged not totally sure, "Maybe. Depends."

Narumi gave her a curious glance, "Well, we're here."

Mikan looked up and saw Hotaru's place. She rang the bell and waited.

 **" _Who dares come?"_** Hotaru's voice came through a speaker somewhere and Mikan faced the camera in front of the gate. _**"Mikan? Why are you here … with**_ **Him _?"_**

"Hotaru-chan! I'm so offended!" Narumi squealed.

 ** _"Never mind. I'm coming down. And Mikan, stay away from Him. I don't want his gay germs getting on someone as pure as you."_**

She edged Hinata away from Narumi, "You're gay?"

He shrugged, "Actually I'm bisexual."

"They let you become a teacher knowing you were… like this?"

He nodded as his smile faltered slightly and she immediately felt bad.

"I don't mind and I'm sure that as long as you just be yourself, no one else will either! Ne?" She smiled brightly.

He stared at her for a moment before engulfing her in a hug.

"You're so cute, Mikan-chan!"

"Oi! I thought I told you to stay away from Mikan! Mikan. Inside. Now. Take a bath. I don't want to touch you if you have his germs all over you. You can go." Mikan looked over Narumi's shoulder to see Hotaru glaring at Narumi.

"Hotaru! That's not very nice! Can we at least invite him in for some tea?" Mikan argued.

She looked at her and sighed, "Fine, but only because _you_ asked me. I'm not doing this for _you_ , Narumi. Try to get that through that thick skull of yours."

Her glare intensified at Narumi who was doing a weird happy dance singing _'Hotaru invited me! Hotaru invited me!'_

Mikan blew gently on her hot cup of tea. They were currently sitting in Hotaru's living room. Narumi and Hotaru were ignoring each other and so Narumi decided to focus his attention on Mikan.

"So Mikan-chan, what's your relationship with Hot-Imai-cha-san?" He asked nervously trying hard to ignore the multiple death glares coming from Hotaru.

"She's my best friend. What else?" she took a small sip and looked at Hotaru who gave a small nod.

"Interesting. Imai-san never mentioned anything about you. In fact I'm sort of glad. I didn't know that Imai-san had any friends at all. After all, she is the Ice Queen."

"That's beside the point. Mikan, why are you here?" Hotaru asked, straight to the point.

"Grandpa's gone missing and since you were the only one I knew from outside I thought it best if I came straight to you." Mikan replied.

"Missing? For how long?" Hotaru frowned

"A few weeks. Maybe a month. I can't really tell. One day just seems to blur into another. But I know that he's been away from way too long."

"Dammit. I'll send for someone to investigate right away. For now you can stay here.'

"Where else could I go? Can I go to school as well?" Mikan asked trying to seem indifferent about it because she could almost already hear her saying no.

"Hmm. Yes. I think that would be best."

Mikan almost dropped her teacup but quickly retained her posture, "Of course it is."

Hotaru gestured for the maid, "Take Mikan to the quest room closest to mine and help her unpack her things."

"Yes Hotaru-sama."

She quickly ushered Mikan out of the room and up a few flights of stairs.

"I'm sorry for making you walk Mikan-sama, but the elevator is currently out of use."

"Don't worry about it. It's fine."

~~~~Down Stairs with Hotaru~~~~~

Narumi stood up and stretched his arms. "Well, I guess I should be going now."

Hotaru nodded, "Before you do I'd like to discuss something with you without Mikan hearing."

"Ooh! A secret! I love secrets!"

"You are aware of the homicide of the Yukihara's, no?"

"Oh course!"

"In that case this should be a lot easier but I'm pretty sure you already know who Mikan Sakura really is."

He nodded gravely, "I see. How are you sure?"

"Subaru was the one to find her. He took her away and gave her to the furthest farmer he could find. The farmer took her in and in return, Subaru gave him money to feed and clothe her. He posed as her grandfather. So for now, for him to go missing...' Hotaru narrowed her eyes, "Someone is coming for her. The only reason for her to attend school is because it will prepare her. It'll give her time to delve and discover her powers. I only want the best for her and for the future of this kingdom."

Narumi nodded thoughtfully, "Does she know who her parents are?"

She shook her head, "But I give you my consent to tell only _only_ your most trusted staff about this."

He nodded again.

"Now get out of my house! You can take the couch with you! It's got gay-man germs all over it!"

"Mou! So mean, Hotaru! But it is a good couch..."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

*******With Natsume*******

They stood outside an iron gate in front of the school.

"Is this Gakuen Alice?" Tsubasa asked unsure.

"No it's a mental asylum. You idiot! Of course it's Gakuen Alice! Can't you read?" Kitsu asked sarcastically.

Mucho took out a badge with a red badge with Gakuen Alice written on it in yellow cursive surrounded by four stars on both sides.

He tapped the intercom and the security camera swivelled towards him.

 **" _Show your I.D and state your business."_**

"Mochiage. Latent Ability Class, Double Star student. I need to enter. I have a few guests for the Gay Lord and I need to see Subaru."

Natsume recoiled a little bit. _Gay Lord? They have a lord that is gay? And teaches children? Never mind that, latent ability class? Double star student?_

 **" _Narumi's out on a trip to the city to get some food. He rang a few hours ago and said that he would be late so best to take a seat at the office. I'll tell Misaki to go down. Subaru is at the hospital. I'll tell him your coming."_**

"Thanks."

The gates swung open revealing the massive towering structure of the Gakuen Alice main building. They walked up the gravel driveway and stopped where the path split off to the left, right and centre.

Kitsu turned to them, "Just go to the building in front of you. A teacher will meet you there."

The gang nodded and climbed up the stairs towards the building. They pushed the heavy doors and entered. There was no one so they decided to make themselves comfortable on the available couches.

A man entered the building and scanned the room until his gaze rested on them.

"Are you the guests that Mochiage brought?"

They nodded.

"I'm Tsubasa Andō."

"Ruka Nogi. Pleased to meet your acquaintance."

"H-hello. My name is Yuu Tobita. Nice to meet you."

"My name is Kokoro Yomi. But you can call me Koko."

"…Natsume….Hyuuga…" he hesitated unsure whether or not to tell him his last name, but in the end, realised that it would be easier to explain this now than later. And sure enough he narrowed his eyes at them.

"And what do you people want at Gakuen Alice, if I may ask, Your Highness." Misaki asked cautiously.

"We wish to enrol." Natsume stated blandly.

He did a double take, "You want to enrol? Do you even know what kind of school this is?" He immediately shut his mouth in horror at what he had just said.

"Yes we are aware. We all have," he tried to recall the word the boy had used, "Alices."

"How do I know that you're not in league with the king?" He asked stubbornly.

"Would I have asked to enrol?" he asked impatiently.

He visibly gave in and sat at the couch opposite them, "Fine! Fine. What are your alices?" He pulled a small black box from inside his pocket.

"I can control shadows." Tsubasa said.

"Shadow manipulation, triple star, special class. You're in high school right?" Misaki dropped three yellow stars into Tsubasa's hand. "Next."

"I can control animals." Ruka said calmly but what Misaki said next caused him to blush slightly.

"Animal pheromone, Somatic class and a Triple Star. Middle school by the looks of it. Next."

"I-I can make illusions." Yuu replied nervously.

"Latent Ability Class. Triple Star. Middle school. Jeez, I don't think that I've had this may triple stars attend school at the same time."

"I can read your mind." Koko grinned.

"Another mind reader? Latent Ability Class and a Single Star." Koko's face crumpled.

"Single star?" Koko muttered underneath his breath as Tsubasa patted his back.

"It'll be okay, man. You have all my sympathy." Tsubasa said condolingly.

"I don't need any sympathy! Especially coming from you!" Koko glared.

"Fire." Natsume simply stated.

"Elemental, huh? Dangerous ability class and special star." He dropped a star in a circle surrounded in red in Natsume's hand.

"Amanatsu will lead you each your dorms. You'll each start school tomorrow and your uniforms will be there. You'll meet the Gay Lord after dinner which will be brought to your rooms so come here once you finish eating."

A robot came into the room and stretched out her hand. "Stars please." Her robotic voice sounded as they gave her their stars and headed down long corridors that lead to the boy's room.

~~~~~~~~With Mikan ~~~~~~~~

Hotaru entered Mikan's room after Narumi left.

"Mikan… there's something that I have to tell you…"

She smiled widely; "Sure!" she patted the space on the bed next to her.

~Time Skip because I can't be stuffed to write everything~

"If all that you just said was true then I should be on my way to reclaim my kingdom!" Mikan cried outraged.

"Mikan! You can't just march over to the King's palace and demand the king to give up his throne! He'll kill you! You don't even know how to use you powers!"

"But! My people are dying because of this man! I can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"You'll be no use to your people if you're dead!" Hotaru was now shouting.  
Her face crumpled and she felt the tears that she had tried to hold back spilled over her cheeks leaving wet salty trails on her face.

"He killed my parents…and the did nothing to him to deserve it."

"Mikan. You are full fae. Do you know what that means?"

She took in a shuddering breath and nodded.

"See, once you figure out how to learn and control your powers you can go and reclaim your heritage."

Mikan wiped her eyes as determination set in, "Then I want to hurry up and go to school! Let's start tomorrow!"

Hotaru smiled, 'You look prettier when you smile. "Night, Mikan."

"Night Hotaru."

 **~Next Morning ~**

Mikan put on Hotaru's spare uniform and checked herself out in the mirror. Out of all the pieces of the uniform, she liked the black boots the best. They reminded her of the boots grandpa used to get her. She grabbed a polka dotted ribbon that her grandpa gave her and tied it into her hair. _Oh, how I missed him_ …

Knock. Knock.

The door opened and Hotaru stepped in.

"Good. You're dressed. Put on the cloak I gave you and bring your arrows. It's never really safe in the public for someone like you. I noticed that you were missing a few arrows. What happened to them? Did somebody attack you?"

Mikan grimaced remembering what she had done to the two boys, "One a minor incident with two people on the road here. By the way, you never told me that they froze the people. What if I accidently dropped one onto my foot?"

"You can be a baka sometimes but, I know you're not enough of one to do something like that. Besides, I don't think the ice would have worked on you. I got a friend of mine, Nobara, to use her alice to charm the arrows. Your alice would have nullified or negated the effect."

She nodded, strapping on her quiver containing the arrows before slinging the bow over her back. "Shall I ask someone to bring Hinata?"

Hotaru shook her head, "We'll be going in my limo."

"What's a limo?"

*******With Natsume*******

Natsume sat on his bed with Ruka, Koko and Yuu. They were all already dressed waiting for the 'Gay Lord' to come pick them up. Tsubasa had left earlier with a guy called Rui. Natsume checked his watch. The gay lord was half an hour late. _Tsk._

"Neh, Natsume?" he perked up at the sound of Ruka calling his name.

"What?"

"I was asking you what you think is taking Narumi so long." Ruka replied patiently.

" _I_ said that he was kidnapped by one of your fathers' goons! Ruka said that he forgot and had to be all boring and say that he was busy." Koko interrupted eagerly.

"I-," Natsume was cut off by a knock at the door.

The door opened revealing Narumi and two girls.

"Yoo-hoo! Sorry I'm late everyone! I had to talk to another new student! Come now! We're already late for class!"

The boys shuffled out of the room as Narumi herded out the corridor. Natsume took the time to assess the two girls. One had dark hair and violet eyes. She carried a gun strapped to her back and was a little bit smaller than the other girl. The other girl wore a white cloak with red trimmings and he noted a small object was concealed under it. He couldn't see any of her facial features and her hair was tucked into her hood. They were talking quietly in small hushed whispers.

We stopped outside a class room and he turned to us.

"Imai-san, can you please go inside and tell the class to settle down. I know that they'll listen to you."

Imai shrugged, visibly annoyed. "¥500,000 Rabbits and don't blame me if your students harbour concussions." She unstrapped her gun and closed the door behind her. There was a mixture of muffled shouts, screams and bangs as the room shook. After a few minutes it was quite inside and she came out again. "Done."

"T-thank you Imai-san. Y-you can go to your seat n-now." Narumi stuttered.

They entered the room and stood in front of the class. Imai was sitting alone in the back row working on an object that closely resembled a bazooka. Everyone else had bruises and cuts and bumps on their bodies. No doubt from her gun.

"Everyone! We have some new students-,"

"Hey you're the girl who froze me!" A familiar cry from the middle of the classroom rang as Kitsu stood up, pointing at the girl in the cloak.

 _Baka!_

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Imai shoot from her gun. It hit his head causing him to faint. Everyone turned to look at the girl next to Ruka. _She was the one who attacked Kitsu? Hmm._ His thoughts were interrupted by whispering.

"She froze Kitsu?"

"Is that her alice?"

"She has the same alice as Nobara-chan!"

"I can't see her face. Can you?"

"Why did she freeze Kitsu?"

"Enough! Now we have to let the new students introduce themselves! You can all ask question later. Please begin."

"My name is Yuu. My alice is Illusion and I am a triple star. Nice to meet you, everyone."

"My name is Kokoro! But you can call me Koko! My alice is Mind reading and I'm a single star student!"

"Natsume. Fire and special star." The prince said coolly, ignoring the whispers rising from the girls.

"My name is Ruka. Animal Pheromone and triple star." Ruka gave a dazzling smile.

"Aw! I call dibs!"

"You can't call dibs on anyone!"

"Quiet! We still have one more to go through!"

The whispers stopped.

"Hello. My name is Mikan. I can't tell you my alice and I am a special star."

Her voice was so sweet and angelic that everyone couldn't believe that this girl had frozen two people. Wait. Did she just say she couldn't tell us her alice?

There was a silent hush before the cries of outrage.

"Hey! No fair!"

"Is she allowed to do that?"

"How many times do I have to tell you people?! Be quiet before I get Jinno to come!"

An immediate silence followed. Whoever Jinno was, he seemed to leave an impression on everyone.

"All the new students will sit at the back since it is empty save for Hotaru. Free period because of the new students. Bye!" Narumi left with a cheerful wave as we walked to our seats. Natsume kept an eye on Mikan who made a bee line for Hotaru and whispered something in her ear. Hotaru spared him a glance before tugging Mikan to sit on her opposite side, forcing her into the seat nearest to the window leaving the rest of them to sit next to the purple eyed girl. Natsume grabbed Ruka's arm.

"Try to get some information out of Imai. You'll do a better job than me." Ruka nodded and Natsume took a seat next to Koko who was leaning over the desk to talk to the person next to Kitsu leaving the only spare seat next to Imai.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

~~~~~~~~With Mikan ~~~~~~~~

Mikan can feel someone staring at her. Ever since she met the four boys, she just can't help but feel that they're staring at her, waiting for her to stuff up or something. But why would they want her to? She leaned towards Hotaru.

"I feel like they're looking at me." She whispered softly.

"I noticed. Bunny boy keeps asking me questions." Hotaru murmured.

"What kind of questions?"

"I'll show you." She inclined her head towards the direction of Ruka who was coming back down the aisle after having a talk with a girl called Anna. He stopped in front of both of them.

"Hello, Hotaru!" a friendly smile was plastered onto his face, "Lovely weather we're having, right?"

Mikan looked out the window. Grey storm clouds were forming and a light splatter of rain was staring to hit the building going through the open window and spattering on the floor near her feet.

"It's raining." she stated, looking back at Ruka. She turned to Hotaru who was still looking outside the window.

She had a small smile on her lips as she watched the rain start to fall harder. Mikan was caught by surprise. She wasn't the only one. A faint blush had begun to form on Ruka's cheeks. "I love the rain." Mikan looked back at Hotaru who was looking outside with a dreamy look.

Everyone stopped to stare at Hotaru. This was, after all, a once in a life time opportunity. Seeing Hotaru smile in public? Alert the press! Call the media! It only lasted for a few seconds though. Soon her eyes unglazed as she seemed to remember where she was.

"What were we talking about again?" Her mask was back in place and straight forward attitude was back.

"Uh, n-nothing. I-I'm going to g-go now. B-bye" He quickly stumbled away, out of the classroom, ignoring a green haired teacher with a frog and a stick who just entered the room.

The froggie teacher scanned the room until his gaze rested on Mikan. Then the three new boys and then back to Mikan.

"How many new students do we have? I was only informed of one at that was Mikan." His voice has deep, angry and irritated.

"Jinno sensei! We have five new students! Mikan, Natsume, Ruka, Yuu and Koko!" a voice from the front called.

"I only see three boys." He glared at the speaker.

"Ruka went to the toilet." Natsume's voice rang lazily in the air, "He's been holding it in all day."

"Stand up! And who, exactly, are you?"

"Natsume." He said standing up.

"Natsume, who?"

He was silent for a little bit, as if hesitating whether or not to tell us. "Natsume Hyuuga." (A/N He didn't say his last name before in case you're wondering)

There were startled gasps and sharp intakes of breath. Murmuring began. Almost as loud as it was this morning when Mikan refused to tell them what her alice was. She saw Hotaru's eyes widen briefly.

Jinno went on regardless of the chaos around the class and as he opened his mouth to speak the entire class fell silent again. "Natsume Hyuuga! Come to the front of the class!"

The whole class heard Natsume's sigh as he started to walk to the front. What surprised Mikna is that he took the long way and walked past her. She could feel the rain splattering at her feet travel down lower and felt the wind start to go calm. _Oh no_. She raised her hand to hold her hood in place right as a sudden burst of wind forced it to sway, drenching Natsume who was walking by.

She couldn't help it. She burst into laughter and before long the entire class was laughing except Hotaru who was eyeing Natsume warily.

"And let that be a lesson to you all!" Jinno said his eyes full of mirth. "Karma will attack those, no matter of their social standing."

 _Social standing? No wonder the name Hyuuga seemed so familiar! I that stupid, lying, manipulative bastard!_ She felt rage consume her whole body. What she didn't know was that soon everyone could feel her dark aura emitted in rays across the room. She stood up and Hotaru stood up with her. Mikan felt the entire class's gaze on them as they walked out the door, ignoring the angry protests from Jinno.

"Hotaru, I'm going back to my room. I can't stand being in the same room as the son of that bastard. No wonder they kept staring at us and asking questions."

~~~~~~~~With Ruka ~~~~~~~~

Ruka stared at his flushed face in the mirror. _I must be going crazy. I must have imagined it._ Hotaru's smiling face entered his mind causing him to get even redder. _This is not the time to be thinking about something as trivial as love._ He was about to open the door when a muffled voice came to him.

"Hotaru, I'm going back to my room. I can't stand being in the same room as the son of that bastard. No wonder they kept staring at us and asking questions." That sounded like Mikan's… and she's with Hotaru!

 _Wait, does this mean that she knows who Natsume is? How did that happen? But is she the princess?_ Ruka slowly opened the door as a white and red piece of fabric fluttered down the hall. He followed them secretly, ignoring the fact that he was already lost and stealthily made sure that he wasn't seen. He followed them inside the girls dorm, only pausing a few times as other students walked by, not noticing the bewildered glances they gave him. They stopped outside a room and said something to each other before going different ways. Mikan went into the room they were standing in front of and Hotaru went into the room beside it to the right. Ruka walked past slowly, making note of the two rooms. 305 and 307. He quickly exited the building. _Now, how to get back to class…_

~~~~~~~~With Tsubasa~~~~~~~~

 _I was moved down from a three star into a two star! Arg! I hate Rui! As soon as we got out of the dorm he asked me for a kiss! And he's a guy! And I'm a guy! So I said no and he got all angry at me and said he needed to punish me, so what does he do? He places a punishment mark on me! Now I can't even use what's left of my alice! And guess what? It only goes away if he wishes it to go back. Even if he dies it will stay there! Here's another thing! He put the punishment mark on my face! Right where everyone can see it! And it's in the shape of a star! How gay is that?! Worst of all, after he gave me that mark, he left me. And then it started to rain. I'm cold, I'm wet, I'm tiered and I'm hungry. I sighed and crossed my arms behind my head, feeling the grass beneath me shift in the breeze. Could this day get any worse?!_

 _Apparently it could. Some stupid girl wasn't looking where she was going and tripped over me._

"Oomph!" Tsubasa gasped as the breath was knocked out of him. A body was awkwardly sprawled on top of him. "Hey watch where you're going!"

"Urg… Ow." The voice muttered. He felt the weight lift off him as his breath caught in his throat at the sight before him.

She had pink hair and darker eyes. She wore the counterpart to his uniform and was currently clutching at her wrist. Her dark eyes caught his and for a moment they just sat there, sprawled on the grass. Tsubasa, half sitting up and her sitting awkwardly on her left ankle, her other leg tangled with his.

"What the hell do you think that you're doing?! You can't just lie on the grass and expect people to notice you! I don't look at my feet when I walk! Why aren't you in class anyway?" Her loud voice spoiled the moment.

"I'm new here! I got lost because some stupid guy called Rui decided to ditch me! What about you?! Why aren't you in class?" he fired back.

"Tsubasa Andō?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah. And you are?" he huffed.

"Misaki Harada. The teacher sent me to find you. _That's_ why I'm not in class." She glared at him.

"The teacher expected you to find me? You know how huge this school is right?" he asked disbelieving.

"That's where my Alice comes into play." She smirked.

"Oh, yeah? And what would that be?"

"Doppelganger Alice. Allows me to make to imitate myself." She elaborated.

"Uh huh. Well we'd better get to class." Tsubasa stood up, stretching his arms.

Tsubasa glanced at Misaki. She was struggling to stand up with her wrist and her ankle gave way. He leapt out and caught her before she could hit the ground.

"Whoa, there. I don't think that you can walk with that ankle." he said as he steadied her.

"I wonder whose fault that might me." She hissed back.

He gave a long suffering sigh before leaning down and twisting, "Get on my back."

"What?" She asked, caught off guard.

"Did the fall also burst your eardrum? I said, get on my back." he repeated.

"Excuse you! I know I heard you! Why?"

"Because you obviously can't walk to the classroom by yourself."

"You don't know the way to the room."

"That's why you'll be leading me."

"You have a wet patch on your butt."

He fought off a blush. "It was raining you know. Now are you going to get on or what?"

She grudging got on his back and Tsubasa was startled by how light she was. "Which way to class?"

"That way." She said pointing to the left.

And so they began their trek to the classroom. After half an hour had past, Tsubasa started to frown.

"Which way now?" He asked.

"Left." Tsubasa sighed and knelt down and felt her get off. He turned to look at her. "We're lost, aren't we?"

~~~~~~~~With Natsume ~~~~~~~~

It was after school hours that the four of them gathered in Natsume's room again, seeing as it was the biggest. He waited impatiently for Tsubasa. _Trust that guy to forget about meeting already. Not that I cared whether that guy was here yet. We had found one possible person. She fitted all the criteria: name that was a fruit (Mikan), had a best friend whose name started with 'H' (Hotaru). All that's left is to check her eyes. They book said that all the heirs of the Yukihara lineage have gold flecked brown eyes. We also had her room number which would be a great help if she was in fact the princess._

Natsume glanced at his watch again. Where the hell was that shadow freak? But more importantly, what was he meant to do about Mikan? As Natsume was brooding what he heard next ignited an idea within him.

"Wouldn't it be nice if we got the princess to fall in love with Natsume?" Koko asked chortling.

"Yeah! As if that would happen! She'd have to be under a spell or an Alice to fall for Natsume. They're enemies. Why would you try to get to know your enemy? And more importantly, how would we make sure she eats or drinks it? Besides, Natsume would never do something so stupid. He doesn't fall in love. He's _Natsume_." Ruka chuckled and so did everybody else.

It was so stupid, it might just work!

"Actually, that's not a bad idea Koko." Everybody stopped to stare at him before bursting out laughing again.

"Oh, Natsume!" Koko laughed, "For a moment there I actually thought that you were serious."

Natsume raised an eyebrow.

"You're not serious are you?" Koko paled, "It was _my_ idea. My ideas _always_ tend to fail and backfire."

"But your pranks don't." he replied.

"Yeah, but those were _pranks_! Purely for the enjoyment of whoever was there with me! Sometimes for revenge." He stressed out the word pranks.

"This is revenge against my father."

"Y-yeah, but-!" He spluttered.

Ruka put a hand on Natsume's shoulder, "I think that Yuu and I can both confidently say that you are being an idiot. There is no telling how long the potion would last, how it affects her and her decision."

Yuu spoke up, "And if she find out what you did your dead!"

Natsume crossed my arms and grumbled. _Stupid people. Like they could think of a better idea._

"How about by tomorrow when we meet again after school, we all share one way of gaining Mikan's trust. If she's the princess then that would be a really good idea." Yuu said.

"And Hotaru's!" They all turned to look at Ruka who looked as shocked as they did. "I-I mean that since their best friends that we became friends with her we have a better opportunity of becoming friends with Mikan."

Natsume noticed a slight blush on Ruka's cheek. He nodded and saw his best friend's relieved expression. _This will be very interesting._

~~~~~~~~With Mikan ~~~~~~~~

"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! Ugh! Hotaru I think I'm getting a cold!" Mikan said in a nasal voice.

"Well don't give it to me! Achoo!" Hotaru sneezed. "Never mind. Too late."


	7. Just A Little Note!

If you have read this book after 4/08/2015 please ignore this and continue reading!

So I accidentally uploaded chapter four twice but fear not! I have replaced the second chapter four with the correct chapter five! So go on ahead and have a read!

I've also started a poll on some of the future events that will happen that I need your help with! So please vote!


	8. Chapter 6

**Chapter Seven**

~~~~~~~~With Mikan ~~~~~~~~

 _I stood, watching a man open a door. The man wore a black cape and a red waistcoat. I frowned. Who was this man? Where was I?_

" _Arg!" I scream cut through my thoughts and without thinking, I bashed the door down. The sight before me made me cringe and look in horror._

 _There was a woman, chained to a wall. She had short brown hair and brown eyes and wore a ripped white dress. The man who I saw earlier was carrying a whip covered in a red substance. Blood. My eyes widened in horror as the scene played before me. The lady was begging for mercy but the man continued whipping her, forcing the cars on her body to split open and blood drip to the floor. Eventually, the man stopped and stared at the lady with a look of disgust._

" _I will only ask once more, where is she? WHERE IS SHE?!" He screamed into her face._

" _I thought you said that you would only ask once." She snarled back at him._

" _Ever the sarcastic one weren't you? Even in high school. Anyway no one can resist King Ioran! You will tell me where Mikan Yukihara is!" And with that, he left the lady and stormed out of the room, locking the door again behind him._

 _As soon as he left, I rushed towards the lady but as I reached up to touch her face, my fingers went right through her. Nevertheless she looked up into my face._

" _Ah, so the connection worked. You look just like your mother…. but you have your father's eyes." Her voice was hoarse and raspy._

" _You…know me?" I asked confused._

" _I would be a terrible aunt if I didn't." She laughed before it turned into a hacking cough._

" _Aunt? You're my aunt?" I asked._

" _Ah yes, from your mother's side. Anyway I can't hold the connection for much longer. You have to trust Natsume! You and he are on the same side! Alone, neither of you will be able to overthrow the king but together you can reclaim the throne!"_

" _But-but he's the son of the bastard who took everything away from me!" I exclaimed._

" _That was not his fault! His idiot of father did all this! You cannot judge a man by who his family is!"_

 _Everything started to blur a bit._

" _Mikan! You must trust him! You and your kingdom will die if you don't! Trust him!"_

 _Everything faded away leaving nothing but the black infinite darkness._

Mikan gasped and sat up straight in bed. _It was all a dream! Just a dream. No, more like a nightmare. It felt so real though. There's no way I could fall back asleep now._ She looked at her clock. 1:02 Am. It was still _way too_ early to go to school. _Time for some exploring_. MIkna put on her uniform and red cloak before leaving a note for Hotaru for whenever she would come into her room and try to wake her up. She tied her hair with small red pompoms in pigtails again before making her way out the door.

Mikan slipped out of my dorm and walked around as her mind replayed back to her dream as the full moon lit the way. _Trust Natsume!_ That was what her aunt said. _My aunt that was bleeding out in a dungeon somewhere in my castle. One of the many innocent victims that didn't do anything to deserve the treatment that Natsume's father did to them._

Before she knew it, tears were falling from her eyes, causing her to stagger as they blurred her vision. All the thoughts of people suffering all kinds of wounds pained her deeply. This was her kingdom and nobody deserved what misfortunes caused by what the king did. Mikan staggered a few more meters before she leaned down and grasped the trunk of a sakura tree. She leaned against it and tried to control her breathing.

"Hey? You okay?"

Mikan sprang away from the tree only to trip on a tree root. She braced herself for impact but instead, felt strong arms wrap around her.

"Hey! I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry that I scared you." The male told her reassuringly.

Mikan turned around and gazed into crimson eyes. Hyuuga. She quickly untangled herself from him and stood a few feet away.

"You okay? You were crying."

She instantly raised her hand to her cheek even though she knew she was crying and was surprised to find that her hood had slipped, revealing her face to the prince.

"Shit." Mikan cursed, raising a hand to put her hood back in place when his hand stopped her.

"Please don't. For what it counts, I think that you are very pretty." He said gently causing her to blush. He seemed so different from in class where he sassed the teacher. _Maybe he was just trying to win me over._ "Why do you where it?"

"….I can't tell you that."

He sighed, "Okay. Fine, it's alright. But would you mind me asking why you were crying?"

I sighed. There was no harm in telling him, right? "It's so stupid. Just a nightmare I had."

"Must have been some nightmare to leave you all rattled like that."

"Yeah. I guess it was." Mikan sighed.

"What was it about?"

Mikan turned to look at him and gave him an annoyed look, "You're really nosy, you know that? It was about my aunt." I hesitated. "She was dying…"

"That's terrible." He looked at her sympathetically.

Mikan felt her anger rile up. _How dare he!_ _If it weren't for what his family did, this kingdom, my kingdom, wouldn't have fallen into such despair._ "Want to know _how_ she was dying?"

"Hm?" he glanced at her.

"Your _daddy_ was torturing her like she the prisoners in the Ardward Prison." Venom was laced in her voice.

"Hey! I am nothing like the King! I hate it when everybody thinks that! People judge me on what the he did, on all the stupid decisions he made, and expect me to be him reincarnated!" He huffed.

Mikan was taken aback. _I still can't trust him. He might just be saying that to earn my trust. But Mikan's didn't even seem to be convincing herself. It was hard to fake such intense anger and revulsion._

While Mikan was thinking about this, Natsume took the time to study her eyes.

Natsume squinted. _Are they brown? It's too dark, I can't really see them. They might have gold rings or flecks. Either way I better be careful on how I treat her._

"Okay. So say I believe you. What are you doing to overthrow him?" Mikan cut through his thoughts.

Natsume thought about what she said. If I tell her that I'm searching for the lost princess, will she reveal herself to me? Better find out. "I'm searching for the last heir."

Mikan scrunched up her eyes. _Really? He's searching for me? I'm_ definitely _not going to tell him that he's searching for me. For all I know, he's only finding me to kill the last Yukihara_. "Well, good luck."

"Wait! Can you help me find her?" he rushed out. Let's see how she reacts.

"Why? I don't trust you. I don't even know that much about you. If you end up killing the heir, wouldn't I become an accomplice?"

His face turned stony, "Why would I kill my last chance at freedom?"

"Are you bringing her back for the kingdom's freedom or your own?"

"Both."

"Then you're just being selfish." She stretched her arms up, unaware of her coat clinging to her skirt causing it to ride up.

"Aren't we all, Polka?"

Mikan frowned and let her arms fall back to her sides. "Excuse me? What did you just call me?"

"P-O-L-K-A. It's the pattern of your underwear." He smirked.

Mikan flush and secured her skirt before punching Natsume on the shoulder.

"YOU PERVERT! I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU LOOKED!"

"Hey! Ow! Why'd you show it to me if you didn't want anyone to see!"

"How was a supposed to know that you had night vison?! And it wasn't on purpose!"

He looked at her before bursting out laughing. She couldn't help but blush again. _His laughter was so handsome. Does that even make sense? What the hell am I even saying?_

"I'm sorry but that expression on your face was priceless!"

"Gee, that makes me feel a whole lot better." Mikan muttered sarcastically, "Anyway, going back to a normal conversation, you've done nothing to me that shows me that I should be able to trust you! And you peeking at my undergarments is giving me even less reasons to. And if I can't trust you, I don't think the princess can either."

"Point taken."

"Trust is important if you both want to reclaim the throne. No trust and we won't be able to reclaim anything."

"Like what? Your dignity?" Mikan shot him a dirty look before punching is shoulder again. "You know what I mean!"

"Well, I was going to give her a love potion." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Though I suppose that's out of the question now."

"I know. Hotaru and I were watching you through her robot afterwards. She planted it on Ruka to see what you guys were up to. Really bad idea, trust me no one's going to trust you if you do that. Who's Tsubasa?"

"A friend of mine."

Afterwards they sat underneath the tree watching the sun rise. Mikan yawned and started to feel drowsy but she couldn't let her guard down around him. _Hmm. Maybe he could prove it to me?_

Mikan stood up and stretched her arms. "I've decided something. You have three days to prove to me three times that I can trust you." Natsume got up as well and they began walking to class.

"Isn't the fact that I didn't give her a love potion count as one?"

"You wanted to give the potion. Ruka told you not to, so no." He chuckled and Mikan let a smile escape.

She pulled up my hood as they reached the building. After they entered the classroom, her eyes started to burn and her vision swam. She slumped into her seat.

"Hey! Are you okay?" She heard Natsume shout. She felt him sit next down next to her.

"I'm-"her head started to droop and she slumped against Natsume's shoulder. "…fine…"

Mikan's last thoughts as sleep threatened to overtake her were those of Hotaru and the class and what they would think once they find them like this. _If Natsume hasn't kidnapped me first, that is._

Natsume sighed at the sight of the girl sleeping on his shoulder. _What am I supposed to do? I have to think of three different ways to prove to this girl that she can trust me in under three days._ He ran a hand through his hair making sure no to wake up the girl next to him. He let his gaze rest on her.

It was hard to believe that the future of this kingdom relied on someone like her. She looked to fragile when she's sleeping. His neck started to feel hot. _NO. I will not do anything to harm her. Hey! This could count for one! I can tell her that I didn't do anything to her while she was sleeping! Only two more left!_ His eyes started to feel heavy and before he knew it, he was deep asleep as well.

~~~~~~~~With Ruka ~~~~~~~~

Ruka entered Natsume's room but he was nowhere to be found. He shrugged and made his way to class. In the corridor he could hear whispering.

"What a cute couple!"

"I didn't know she looked so kawaii underneath that hood."

"I wish I was Mikan!"

"She's so lucky to be with such a hot guy like Natsume!"

"Natsume is such a lucky dude!"

Ruka's mind started to buzz. _Did Natsume figure out who the lost princess was? But what does that have to do with Mikan? Did he do something to her?! **Natsume!** _ Ruka quickly threw open the door and the sight was not what he expected.

Mikan's hood had fallen showing her honey curls tied up into pigtails with small red pom poms. She was resting her head on Natsume's shoulder who was resting his head on top of her head with his arms wrapped protectively around her waist. They were both sleeping. Ruka began making his way towards them. Does Natsume even know what he's doing?

 _'Of course not! He's sleeping!_ ' a voice inside his head drawled.

Just as he was about to wake Natsume up, a small pale hand grabbed his.

"Don't. I want to get a good picture." A quiet voice commanded.

He turned around to face Hotaru who was holding a camera in one hand. After a few clicks she stepped back.

'You can wake them up now, Nogi.' It was practically an order.

"Uh, Imai? I can't. You're still holding my hand." Ruka was fighting a blush and it was winning.

She looked down and her eyes widened a small fraction before she hastily let go. "So I am. Now wake them up. I won't ask again before you taste by BAKA Gun."

Ruka quickly woke Natsume up.

"Natsume! You have to wake up now! Natsume!"

"Hnn. Go away Ruka, I'm trying to sleep." He grumbled, turning away from me and clutching Mikan tighter. Ruka heard a couple more clicks from behind him. _Oh god._

"Forgive me for this, Natsume." Ruka whispered before reaching into his bag and taking out a bottle of water. He saw Imai start to video and mentally cringed.

Ruka drained the bottle onto Natsume's head and leapt backwards as Natsume jumped into the air.

"Holy! What the hell, Ruka?!" He swore before rushing back to Mikan whose head was falling. After catching her in time, he gave him a scalding look.

"Mm." Mikan began to wake up. She looked up at them cutely before stretching into a yawn. All the boys watching started to blush. She looked at Natsume who was smiling down at her. _Wait. Smiling?_ Click! Click! They heard Imai taking some more photos.

"One reason to trust me is that I protected you when you slept." He smirked. _What?_

By now, Mikan had regained her alertness. She looked down at herself before looking up at Natsume. "I'm wet." She replied simply. "Some protector you are."

"I wonder why?" Natsume gritted his teeth glaring at me before turning back to Mikan, "Anyway I can help." He lit a small fire and soon both of them were dry. Mikan yawned again and Natsume moved to his seat allowing Hotaru and Ruka to get to theirs.

Just as Ruka sat down he heard Natsume's cool voice from behind him causing him to shiver in dread.

"Just why, exactly, did you pour a bottle of water on me?"

Ruka laughed nervously. There was going to be hell for what he did.

~~~~~~~~With Tsubasa ~~~~~~~~

 _Shadows! Shadows! Shadows! Shadows! Shadows! I love shadows! Oh, look! A shadow pony! I wonder if it will let me ride it!_

Tsubasa was pulled out of his sleep as he felt several hands start to punch him.

"Oomph! Ow! Cut it out!" He opened his eyes to glare at his attacker. Er attackers. He was surrounded by multiple Miskais? "Huh?"

"Wake up! Tsubasa! We've a long day ahead of us!" They smiled cheerily at him. He blinked as the thought processed. _I must still be dreaming._

"Ugh. Five more minutes!" He growled turning back on his side.

Misaki took a step backwards before kicking his torso. "Get up you stupid moron!"

"Hey! Ugh! Fine!" He stretched his muscles whilst giving Misaki a sour look. So I wasn't dreaming… oh right, she has the Doppelganger Alice.

Thye had spent the night under a tree near the woods.

Tsubasa bent down again and Misaki climbed onto his back just as his stomach growled.

"Hungry now, are we?" She teased just as hers growled as well.

"I could say the same to you." Tsubasa smirked.

She slapped the back of his head, "Just shut up and keep walking!

After a few minutes a strange thought occurred to him.

"Misaki, you did kick me right?"

"Yeah, what of it?" She asked cautiously.

"How are you able to kick me it your ankle is sprained?"

She stared at him and then back at her ankle. She sweat-dropped, "Oppsie. Heh heh. You can put me down now."

Tsubasa sighed and knelt again so that she could get off, "You're a lot of trouble. You know that?"

"How exactly am _I_ trouble?" she asked haughtily.

"If it weren't for you we wouldn't be in this mess!" He took a step forward and pointed his finger at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" she took a step forward as well.

"Well if you knew the way back to class we wouldn't be walking around aimlessly!" Tsubasa took another step forward.

"Well if you hadn't gotten lost in the first place, I would never have gone looking for you!" She took one more step as well.

"Yeah?! Well-!" Tsubasa was interrupted by a shout. He swung his head towards the source.

"MMMMMIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSAAAAAKKKKKIIIIIII!" a boy in their year was running towards them with another one hot in his heels.

They stopped just short of running them both over.

"We've *huff huff* been *huff huff* looking *huff huff* for *huff huff* you *huff huff* everywhere!" the boy gasped for air and leaned hard onto the other guy with glasses who wasn't even out of breath.

He slapped his hand away from her shoulder, "Oh my god Tono! You're so unfit! I swear Misaki, if I am given the choice of whether or not to run with this guy I would say HELL NO! He was complaining all the way even though I was carrying him!"

"That is not true!" The two newcomers looked at Tsubasa and Misaki. "Oh. Were we interrupting something?"

"Huh? What?! OH HELL NO!" Misaki kicked Tsubasa away.

"Hey! Ow!"

There was an awkward silence that resonated through the grounds.

The two newcomers looked at Tsubasa. The taller one leaned on the shorter one's shoulder and pointed at Tsubasa. "And who, are you?"

"Well, Megane, Tono, I want you to meet Tsubasa Andō! He's new here!" She turned to him, "Tsubasa, I want you to meet my two best friends! Tonouchi Akira and Megane!" She smiled sweetly at him. _Wow talk about mood swings._

"Guys! Lead me to the cafeteria! I'm so hungry I would consider catching Mr Bear and eating him!" Misaki suddenly announced.

And so they were off to the cafeteria where Misaki and Tsubasa somehow started an eating competition.

"I bet you can't eat as much as me!" Misaki challenged a twinkle in her eyes.

"Watch me!" Tsubasa replied stuffing food in his face.

CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP!

~Five minutes later~

CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP!

~Ten minutes later~

CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP!

~Half an hour later~

CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP!

~One hour later~

CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP!

~Two hours later~

CHOMP! CHOMP! CHOMP!

"Hey Megane, do you think they'll ever stop eating?" Tono sweat-dropped.

He gazed them busily eating through a bucket of chicken wings, "How am I supposed to know?"

"Hey, if you put your spirit into the chicken wings do think that they'd keep eating?" Tono asked excitedly. They shared a look. _Oh no._

The chicken in Tsubasa's mouth start to talk as well as the one Misaki was holding.

"Ow! That hurts! Stop biting me!" the one in his mouth wiggled.

"Please don't eat me!" the one that Misaki held screamed.

Tsubasa and Misaki shared looks, their faces going green.

"I think I'm going to be sick!" they shouted in unison.

They both ran outside and upheaved everything they had eaten.

"Ew! I'm covered in puke!" Misaki complained.

"Join the club." Tsubasa muttered.

He felt Tono and Megane join them.

"I think it's time to take them back into the dorms."

"For once in my life, Tono, I agree with you."

~Time Skip~

Tsubasa's door opened with a bang and he groggily lifted his head and peered out of his covers to see who it was _. Natsume. Shit the meeting_. Tsubasa threw the covers off and opened his mouth but Natsume beat him to it.

"Where the hell do you think you've been?!" Natsume yelled, red eyes burning in fury. Tsubasa saw the rest of the gang enter the room and make a circle at the bed with Natsume. _What was this? A séance?_

"I can explain! I was-" Tsubasa began.

"I don't want to hear what you've been doing! Yuu! Brief him!" Natsume turned away from him and walked out of the room followed by Ruka and Koko.

Tsubasa turned to Yuu with a look of disbelief on his face.

Yuu gave him an apologetic look, "A lot of things happened today. Don't mind him. He's just tired. Why don't I explain everything?"

~Insert your version of what happened~

"Really? Do I have to do three things for her to trust me as well?" Tsubasa asked curiously.

"No. This is a test for just Natsume.'

"Well," Tsubasa began, "while all that's been happening to you guys, this is what happened to me."

~Insert your version of what happened again~

"Ow. That's a pretty rough first day of school." Yuu cringed.

"Trust me, I'd take getting wet from the rain in a classroom and being laughed at than getting wet outside, carrying a girl who thought she had a sprained ankle and got us lost."

"Mm. Me too. I'm going to go now. I'll tell Natsume everything you told me. You get some rest. We both know you're going to need it."

"Hn. 'Night Yuu." Tsubasa pulled the covers back over him and melted back into his dreams about shadows.

 _Hope you liked it! Special thanks to the following for reviewing:_

 ** _mystery555_**

 ** _michan-natsu_**

 ** _Guest_**

 ** _Night's Warrior_**

 ** _Apokalipsiismybae02_**

 ** _A Clipped Wing_**

 ** _komaeda_**

 _I appreciate all your support!_

 _R &R _


	9. Chapter 7

**Chapter Eight**

~~~~~~~~With Mikan ~~~~~~~~

It took Mikan a while to realise that her hood was down. It was only when Anna told her that she had nice hair that it hit her. Mikan turned to glare at Natsume who was beating the crap out of Ruka.

"Natsume." She said softly and angrily.

"Hm?" He paused to look at her and gulped at the expression on her face.

"Can you explain why my hood is down?" her dangerously quiet voice rang throughout the room stilling everyone to turn and look in amusement at the scene unfolding before them.

"It slipped?"

"Why is that a question?"

By now Ruka had freed himself from Natsume's lose grip and was scrambling along the ground to join the other people on the side lines but they didn't pay attention. Natsume straightened up regaining his posture and apparently his composure.

"Because that's what I think happened?" Mikan paused to look at the man standing before her.

"What you think happened? And what exactly do you think will happen when I slaughter you by punching your brains out?"

"You won't, Polka."

Mikan glared at him. _Polka? He dare bring that name up now?!_ "I forbid you to call me that!"

Natsume gave her an amused look, "That what you wear, right? P-O-L-K-A-D-O-T-S."

Mikan narrowed her eyes as she flushed. She opened her mouth just as Jinno–sensei came in. Mikan silently glared at Natsume as he smirked at the board.

"Today is a special lesson since Narumi is currently away on official Alice business and won't be returning in about a week or two. I will not repeat myself. When a teacher who is trying to help you not killed is about to give you valuable information you might want to listen!"

He banged his books on Koko's and Kitsu's heads as they stopped mid-laugh.

"Firstly, who knows the difference between a fairy and a faerie? Kitsu, since you were talking, you must already know this. Would you like to explain this to the class?"

Kitsu stood up nervously. "Erm…a fairy has wings and a faerie doesn't?" He muttered weakly.

 **SMACK!**

Kitsu sat back down with the force of Jinno shoving a book onto his head again.

Jinno lifted up his hand, a tick on his head. "No you idiot. Yuu, can you try to explain what the difference is?"

Yuu rose up to the challenge, glasses flashing as he pushed them up to the bridge of his nose. "Most of the non-alice people use fairy and faerie in the same sense and do not consider having many differences. For them, it is just the difference in spelling and nothing else. Both fairy and faerie are used for two different mythical spirits or figures. 'Fairy' is a word that has been derived from Latin word 'fatum,' which can mean 'fate.' Fairies are considered to be a group of young and pure spirits. These fairies are considered to elevate to higher levels through their impartial and loving service. Generally, a fairy refers to the young spirit which is in the mid-level of growth. They are considered to be lower to 'sylph' and higher to 'elf.' Obviously fairies don't exit so I won't bother explaining anymore. 'Faerie' is a word that has been derived from Gaelic 'fear shidhe,' which means 'man of the shee.' These mythical figures are portrayed as spirits that know easy ways of stealing. For example, faeries steal children and keep them as slaves or pets. Unlike the faeries, fairies can be a bit mischievous but are not dangerous. An example of a fairy is Tinkerbell and an example of a faerie is a banshee.

But this is all according to the normal humans. Fae, are the offspring of a gifted person called Alice. Alice had five children: fire, water, earth, air and spirit. All of her children have also had many children, thus leading us to come into existence. Alice was the first faerie and all of her descendants have been called the fae. A pure-fae, is when your linage never mixes with that of humans. Though they are rare. Most of the fae are what we call half-fae or mixed fae. They're when a half-fae or a pure-fae have a baby with a human. Fae blood is very dominating so even if you're half, you child would also be a mixed-fae as well. But for obvious safety reasons, we call ourselves alices. Alices can be passed down through your linage depending on which of the Five Founders you come from. But, it is definite that when you die, all your alice powers will be passed down to the eldest of your line."

Jinno looked somewhat surprised at Yuu's answer but then nodded approving at him.

"To sum it all up a fairy is a non-existent spirt created by Latin and Gaelic people to make people sleep at night. A faerie is someone who has unnatural powers inherited in their genes from their ancestors. Adding onto the faerie part, faeries have been around, hidden, for longer than humans. They were still here when Homosapien, Neanderthals and Denisovans were walking around the earth about 410,000 years ago."

He surveyed the room to make sure that he still had everyone's attention.

"This is not a history lesson. There is a practical to this as well. Under normal circumstances, you would not learn about this until your senior year, but this is not normal circumstances. The principle told me to teach you how to control your powers. You'll be sorted into three ability classes: somatic, latent, special and dangerous. When all I call your name, please go to your designated spot. Because of the shortage of the people in these groups, the special and dangerous classes will be teaming up."

Everyone was murmuring slightly.

"I already know how to control my alice. Why do I need to train?"

"Yeah… I don't want to have to do anything laborious! I might break a nail or get covered in sweat!"

"I want to be in the same class as you! NO! I need to! I don't want to be a loner!"

"I wonder what class I'm in?"

"I hope I'm not in the same class as you."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

"How do they sort us?"

Mikan sighed and turned to face the window. _They're so stupid. Just because you know how to use your alice, doesn't mean you've mastered it. And break a nail? Come on! If you're crying over such a petty thing like that I wonder how you'd survive with a broken arm or leg._

"Mikan."

The said girl stood up and joined a boy wearing a mask, by the door.

"I'm Hoshio Hoshino. Who are you?" the boy wearing the mask asked rudely.

"Mikan."

"Oi. Polka. Looks like I'm in the same class as you."

Mikan wanted to wipe the annoying smirk off his face. "What makes you think that being a pervert makes me trust you?"

"I don't think. I _know_." His smirk widened at her exasperated look.

"Ahem. Excuse me if I'm interrupting something but everyone's here so let's get this show on the road." A man with black hair and multiple piercings wearing a silver mask, drawled.

Mikan looked at the man in front of her before glancing around. "There's only three people in our group."

"Jinno did say that there was a shortage of people in the classes." Silver Mask shrugged.

 _Great! So I'm stuck in a class with a pervert, a rude boy and a creepy teacher!_

"Let's go outside where we have more space." Mikan begrudgingly followed them outside the class room and onto a field.

Silver Mask stood in front of the three students and examined them. _Pervert, Gorgeous, Vulgar. Oh why did I have to lose the bet with Nodacchi?! The only one I'd even bother teaching would be Gorgeous. Better get this over with._ "Listen up. My name is Persona and that's what you'll call me." His eyes darted to Mikan and he clasped her hands ignoring her surprised look, "But you, Gorgeous, may call me Rei."

Mikan felt her palms starting to sweat as she nervously wondered when he would let go of her hands.

"Could you let go of her hands now? Isn't it obvious she feels uncomfortable?" Natsume drawled

"Well aren't you just a shiny little hypocrite! Who was earlier that was calling my student Polka?"

They glared at each other as Mikan stood awkwardly in-between. What the hell?! Is this what boys act like?! And more importantly, I'm starting to lose feeling in my hand!

"Stop doing such a stupid act. Some of us don't want to see two perverted hormonal guys, fight over a girl who looks like she'd rather be at home."

Persona let go of Mikan's hand and sent Hoshino a grateful look. _Maybe he isn't so bad after all…_

"I didn't do that for you. I just don't want to see such a sicking deed before my eyes. Stop thinking so highly of yourself." He started walking after Persona.

I take it back! He's rotten to the core!

Mikan glared into the back of his head, fury radiating off her in waves.

"First, we'll focus on defensive magic. When in doubt, always defend. Now Natsume and Hoshino, why don't you take off your Alice restraints. Hoshino. Why don't we try you out first? Natsume attack Hoshino."

Mikan stood up and joined Persona and at the sidelines. Natsume took off his earrings, which no one had noticed him wearing, and Hoshino took off his mask. He had a short fringe and his face was quite pale in comparison to the rest of his body.

They both took their stances. Natsume's feet were shoulder width apart, one of his hands was in front of him, the other was behind him. Hoshino, on the other hand, opted for a Kung foo crouch. Without warning, Natsume's hands caught on fire. Mikan had to stifle a gasp at this. It had to be painful if you weren't immune to fire. They watched silently as he shot fire from his hands towards Hoshino who had lightning slash it. Gritting his teeth, Natsume made a ring of fire around Hoshino, effectively cornering him. Hoshino then created a tornado that effectively doused the flames. Natsume moved closer, throwing bigger fire balls at the weather controller. Hoshino dodged all of these and no began to launch his attack of hail the size of cars. They landed with thuds, digging into the ground and making massive dents. The fire caster moved out of the way and avoided the majority of them, melting a few to just wet puddles on the ground. Hoshino panted and stopped his attack for a few seconds. Natsume took advantage of this and launched another big fire ball at Hoshino who countered it by making it rain…only on Natsume. Now, Mikan knew that she hadn't seen many guys around her age but the way Natsume looked right now, was enough to make her blush.

She turned her head away and opted to look at the other groups. Nonoko making bombs in a makeshift lab, Anna was cooking something that resembled something out of a poison book. Yuu, was making illusions of fearsome demons and powerful warriors while Hotaru was using a gun to shoot rubber pellets at Sumire who was dodging them while using her alice. Ruka was training the animals from the Northern Woods attack and defence positions. Koko was talking with Makihara about something. (reading the enemies minds so they knew where to attack?)

"Mikan! Look out!" A voice to her left shouted.

Mikan snapped her head to the sound of the voice and saw a great big fireball full of ice heading her way! She instantly raised her arms out in front of her as a bright flash of light erupted from her hands.

By the time the light faded everyone was looking at her.

'What the hell was that?' Sumire's voice broke the silence, 'Did you just use nullification?'

'She can't of! She'd have to be a Yukihara!' another voice called out.

'Does that mean Mikan is actually Mikan Yukihara?'

Mummers scattered across the field.

"Barrier alice."

"What?" Everyone looked for the voice.

"She doesn't have Nullification, she has the Barrier Alice." Hotaru's voice rang out loud and clear.

Everyone was silent for a few moments before the whispers rose again.

"Aw! Really? I thought for a second that there was a surviving member!"

"Dang!"

"Quiet! Either you behave now or I'll send you back to your dorms for the rest of the day!"

Hearing this, the students decided to be louder.

"Awesome!"

"Yes! I want some! Can you leave some of it on my desk later?"

"Did you watch the baseball last night? Sawamura was awesome wasn't he?!"

"Yeah! You couldn't even see his pitch! And what about Furarya?!"

*mindless chatter*

A tick grew on Persona's head. "Shut up! As it seems that you all won't be able to continue, you're all dismissed into your dorms."

Everyone quickly left the field until it was only Mikan, Hotaru and Natsume left.

"Mikan you idiot. Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Hotaru scowled.

"Hey if you're going to blame anyone, blame the fire caster! If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have had to have used my powers!"

"Don't blame me for your stupidity!" Natsume glared at Mikan slightly.

"But admit! You're the reason why I had to n-barrierfy it!"

"Not unless you trust me. And barrierfy? Is that even a word?"

"Never! I don't know!"

Hotaru rolled her eyes at them, "I'll leave you two to your lovers quarrel. I'll be in my lab if you need me."

"We are NOT having a lovers quarrel!" Mikan spluttered at her retreating figure.

"I'm going to go to know, Polka.' He smirked at me.

"NATSUME! YOU PERVERT!"

**Cue Natsume's smirk**

 **SORRY FOR THE RRREEEEEEAAAAAAALLYYY LATE UPDATE! I FORGOT BECAUSE I HAD TO PRIORITIZE SCHOOL STUFF AND THINGS LIKE THAT!**

 **And I originally did try to post it sooner but it kept coming up with 503 service unavailable. I also apologize for it being really short!**

 **I'LL TRY MY BEST TO WRITE ANOTHER ONE THIS MONTH AS WELL!**


	10. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

~~~~~~~~With Narumi ~~~~~~~~

Narumi quietly stalked the hallway. His steps were big and purposeful and his posture relaxed. This made him fit in well at the castle. Narumi was wearing the black robes that he had stolen from one of the ministers' laundry and had pulled the hood over his face. Every maid and butler he pass bowed to him as the others barely spared him a glance before returning to what they were doing.

Narumi turned into an almost deserted hallway and pretend to adjust his cufflink as the last maid left the corridor.

He turned to the nearest door and tried the knob. It was unlocked. He moved the door slightly and peek inside. After making sure that the room was indeed empty, Narumi moved inside and locked himself in.

He threw the black robe off him and placed on an armchair. Hopefully, the next person that came in here would only think that a minister had left his robe here and that they would be coming back to get it later.

Narumi peered around the room. It was full of books. The room itself was rather small, but the books in the selves surrounding all four sides gave it a bigger feel.

He removed one of the books and placed a small bomb inside. _It wouldn't harm anything but it would provide a good distraction. The timer was set for ten minutes._

He placed on his second costume: a butler outfit. After he finished he pressed the device. The time was 9:34am. The race was on!

Narumi inconspicuously exited the room and set off at a fast past to the King's room. _Our spies had told us that he was away for the day to visit one of his mistresses to do god knows what. Now was the time to act._

 _Up the stairs. 9:37 Across the corridor. 9:38 Through the door. 9:39 Up another set of stairs. 9:40 Talk to some of the maids. 9:43 Hide behind a statue of the King. 9:44_

 **BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!**

The castle shook slightly. People were rushing everywhere. _Good! I'll fit right in!_ He darted quickly up serval flights of stairs until he reached the King's private study.

Using a lock picker, he opened the door and set to work on gathering information. The papers on the desk were useless; they only talked about the budget and info on other countries. Narumi tried the cabinet and all the draws. All but one was unlocked. This raised his curiosity as to why. The lock picker wasn't working. _Was it sealed with an alice?_ He looked around. _Was the key somewhere in here?_ A quick search of the study told him the answer: no. _But whatever's in it must be really important._

Narumi checked my watch. _The distraction would probably already be over. It would be suspicious to leave the study later._ He quickly scanned the room again to see if anything was out of place when something caught his eye. The wall paper was different slightly on one part of the far wall. A quick knock test told him that it was hollow. _Too bad there isn't any time left to see what was behind it._

After a swift exit from the castle, he made his way to his next mission. A young rebel possessed a Ghost type alice and was leading people in a rebellion against the King. _A person like that might make a powerful ally._

 ** _We live in cities you'll never see on screen  
Not very pretty, but we sure know how to run things  
Living in ruins of a palace within my dreams  
And you know, we're on each other's team  
_**  
 _Huh? Where's that music coming from? Don't tell me…._

 ** _I'm kind of over getting told to throw my hands up in the air, so there  
So all the cups got broke shards beneath our feet but it wasn't my fault  
And everyone's competing for a love they won't receive  
'Cause what this palace wants is release_** _  
_  
Narumi turned the corner and gazed upon a boy with silver hair and teal eyes. _Youichi Hijri. Age:17. Alice of summoning bad spirits. Would be classified as a dangerous ability._

 __ _ **We live in cities you'll never see on screen  
Not very pretty, but we sure know how to run things  
Living in ruins of a palace within my dreams  
And you know, we're on each other's team**_ _  
_  
He was drawing quite a crowd. One boy and one guitar. Narumi chuckled softly to himself.

 ** _I'm kind of over getting told to throw my hands up in the air  
So there  
I'm kinda older than I was when I rebelled without a care  
So there_**

 ** _We live in cities you'll never see on screen  
Not very pretty, but we sure know how to run things  
Living in ruins of a palace within my dreams  
And you know, we're on each other's team  
We're on each other's team  
And you know, we're on each other's team  
We're on each other's team  
And you know, and you know, and you know_**

Everyone clapped wildly. They seemed to love him.

"Ah. Thank you! I'll be performing again at Central Town on Friday. Feel free to come and support me again!" He beamed at the crowd.

 _Central Town on Friday? That's when the Anti-King meeting will be held. Smart kid._

Narumi waited patiently for everyone to leave and for him to finish packing up his guitar.

"You have a nice voice."

He looked up, his teal eyes assessing Narumi as a threat or not. He wasn't.

"I've been told that multiple times."

"Do you know what an 'Alice' is?"

Youichi narrowed his eyes. Of course he knew. Anyone who was part of an Anti-King meeting knew.

"I'm sorry. I really gotta go now. My mum wants me home before dinner."

"Don't worry, Youichi, you will be."

"How do you know my name?"

"The same way you know what an 'Alice' is."

"You're part of an Anti-King group?"

Narumi smiled slyly. "I guess you could say that."

Youichi frowned. "Which one?"

"Gakuen Alice."

Youichi's eyes widened. "And what would someone from GA want with me?"

"Gakuen Alice is a school for boys and girls to hone their powers with the safety of being hidden from the King. I've been sent by the higher-ups to get you to join us."

"No thank you. I already know how to use my Alice. I don't need some crack-pot to teach me something I already know. Save your time. Go back to school." Youichi set his guitar case on his shoulder and began to walk away.

"If you know how to wield your Alice in a battle then I'll let you go."

The boy looked over his shoulder. "In a battle? You're going to fight me?"

"Of course."

"That seems ridiculous and unfair." Youichi smirked.

Narumi grinned in reply, "If you plan be part of an Anti-King group, you should know how to defend yourself."

"And if I win, what's in it for me?"

"What do you want? I'll give you anything if it's within my means."

Youichi's eyes flashed. "All the information you have on the King and Anti-King groups."

"Hmm? That's interesting. But I'll accept it because I know you're not going to win. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Don't underestimate me just because I'm still a kid."

"I won't"

"I doubt it."

All of a sudden, ghosts appeared out of nowhere and began attacking Narumi. Narumi stood still to evaluate what was happening. _Two ghosts coming from the left, another pair from the right, three big ones from in front and four big ones from the back._ A shadow fell on Narumi. _Ah. And also one from above. This kid… just what is he trying to play at?_

Narumi crossed his arms as the ghosts went straight through him. "Seriously?"

"Just checking. I wanted to know if you would go running at the first sign of danger. You know how many people have done that? It's been forever since I had to go full out."

"Is that so? I guess I better let you warm up then."

"That's not necessary."

More ghosts emerged from the ground. They were feudal Japanese men bearing Katanas, Daishōs, Guntōs, Kodachis and other Japanese weapons.

"Youichi-sama. What would you request we do?" One of them said.

"Severely harm?"

Another licked its lips. "Kill?"

"Nah. I don't want him dead. Just hold back a little."

"As you say Youichi-sama." They replied, sneering at Narumi.

Narumi smiled. "I guess I'll have to hold back a little as well."

Youichi shrugged. "Do whatever the hell you want. See if I care."

"You'll be caring once beat you."

"Fat chance."

"Fat chance, indeed."

Then they attacked.

It was impossible, but somehow, Narumi dodged and avoided every single attack. "I thought you wanted to beat me. I guess I was wrong. With attacks like that, it makes me wonder if you're even trying!"

Youichi narrowed his eyes. "Prove to me that I should." Damn! How did he avoid all my attacks?! Did he dodge them all?! _Or did he-_

Suddenly, all the ghosts disappeared as Youichi watched in shock. He used his alice again but none appeared. Sweat was brimming on his forehead as he concentrated hard but still, nothing appeared.

"What did you do?!" he glared at Narumi who smirked back.

"If you were in a battle field, against an armed opponent and your alice wasn't working, how would you survive. You plan to join an Anti-King group yet you can't defend yourself under these circumstances. Gakuen Alice trains people like you to become better versions of themselves." Narumi stepped towards him plucking a card out of his pocket.

Youichi glared at him. "That didn't answer my question."

"Nullification alice stone. If you want to actually be a part of a legitimate organisation come to this place tomorrow at 9am." Narumi smiled before walking away.

Youichi looked at the card and ran a hand through his hair. _Should I really…_

~~~~~~~~At Gakuen Alice ~~~~~~~~

Mikan and Hotaru were talking quietly to each other and it was driving Natsume insane! It had hardly been 30mins since they left the field and he still didn't have any idea of how to gain her trust. Three days. Tomorrow, the day after and the day after the day after. Three different ways to earn her trust. Natsume ran a hand over his face and slumped in his seat at the cafeteria causing Ruka to look at him in concern.

"Ruka?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm going to need a lot of help."

"Hmm."

~~~~~~~~The Next Day~~~~~~~~

Narumi glanced at the silver haired boy standing outside the classroom door and smiled inside his mind. "When I give you the signal, come in."

The boy nodded and crossed his arms as Narumi opened the door. The teacher gazed at his students. Mikan and Hotaru were reading in the corner, Yuu, Kitsu, Anna and Nonoko were laughing at something Koko said, Sumire, Luna and Wakako were applying make-up and reading magazines and Natsume and Ruka were whispering reverently to each other while glancing at Mikan and Hotaru.

He ganged his books onto the table and gave a smile of satisfaction as everyone stopped talking and turned his attention to him.

"Good morning, class! Today we have a new student. I hope that you will all make him feel welcome. You may now come in, Youichi Hijiri."

 **I'm so sorry! I know I said that I would update again in September and it's nearly the end of October but I've been so side-tracked with school and anime that I haven't managed to find any time to write this chapter! I'm sorry that it's also a filler but I think that it may be important in the future! I'm sorry that it's so short but please bear with me! Also, about the three things that Natsume has to do to gain Mikan's trust, I've created a poll on my profile about what he should do! Please pick the option that you would like the most!**


	11. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"My name is Youichi Hijiri. I would say it's nice to meet you all, but honestly it's not." The teal eyed boy crossed his arms and looked around the classroom as they glared back in outrage.

 _These were my classmates? They don't even look like they can fight any better than me._

"Well, that's all! New student equals free period! Have fun everyone!"

Youichi's eyes widened in shock, "H-hey wait a moment!" but Narumi had already pranced out of the room. "Geez!" _Did I really_ _enroll_ _into this school for this?!_

"Mikan, let's go. We have to work on our alices. I found a discarded classroom in the high school grounds that we can use." Hotaru stood up.

"Okay." Mikan grabbed her bag and put her hood back on before following her friend out of the class.

Youichi glanced in surprise at the girls as they passed. _This aura._ _It's very faint but it's there… The princess? I would know that aura anywhere! Maybe I should follow them…_

"Hijiri." Kitsu placed his arm on Youichi's shoulder. "Just what exactly makes you think that you're better than us?!"

"Tsk!" Youichi glanced at him annoyed. "I don't have time to deal with you right now." A burst of ghosts came from the ground causing the other boy to jump in fright.

"Oh shit man!" He leaped over a ghost and barely dodged another's attack. By the time they were gone, Youichi was nowhere to be seen.

Natsume arched an eyebrow in amusement. What a curious new guy. He cringed in annoyance as he looked back down at the list of things he'd come up with.

 **Trust:**

 **1** **_** **Love potion**

 **2\. _**

Ugh. Why is it so hard to think of something?!

"Natsume. Do you think that you'll actually be able to accomplish this?" Natsume to his head to look at Ruka.

"I think it'll be worse if I don't. Man! There should be books to gain a girl's trust!"

"Oooh! Natsume! You want to gain a girl's trust?!" Natsume and Ruka turned their heads to look at the newcomer.

"Hoshio. What the hell do you want?"

"No need to be so rude Natsume! I thought that maybe I could help!"

"What do you know about gaining a girl's trust?" Ruka asked curiously.

"Absolutely nothing!" Hoshio grinned, his alice causing a small rainbow.

Natsume felt his eyebrow twitch. "Get out!" he prepared himself to kick Hoshio.

"But I know someone who does!" Natsume paused.

"Who?" Ruka asked.

"My best friend Google!"

The two boys looked at him blankly.

"Who? Is he in our class?"

Hoshio gave Natsume a shocked look. "You don't know who Google is?!"

"Are they a celebrity? Ruka, do you know any celebrities called Google?"

Ruka shook his head. "Maybe it's a band? They might specialise in 'trust' songs."

"Are you joking? I can't tell if you're joking or not."

Natsume glared at him. "Does it look like I'm joking?"

"Mate, do you know what a computer is?"

"Com-put-er? Is that another person?" Ruka asked.

"You're not joking. I don't think I've met anyone who isn't old and saggy that doesn't know what a computer is."

"Yes! Yes! So you've said! Get on with it! Take me to this 'Google' and 'com-put-er' and we shall see if they can help us."

"To the computer rooms we go!" Hoshio said with fake enthusiasm. _Just what have I gotten myself into?_

Hoshio led them through a maze of corridors before stopping at a door above which was a silver metal sign which read _'Computer Room'_.

Hoshio opened the door and gave a theatrical bow. "After you." He gave a cheeky smile.

Natsume sent him a look of disdain before entering and Ruka trailed after him.

The room was quite spacious. A row of gleaming high-tech computers sat at each side along the wall against the dark blue wallpaper: each screen cleaned to a pristine perfection with no finger marks or dust. In the center of the room were multiple tables with chairs that were spaced out evenly across the entire length of the area. The black blinds on the grey paneled windows allowed the sunlight to light up the room enough to see where everything was.

"What is this? You've taken us to room filled with weird shaped boxes!" Natsume glared at Hoshio.

"Relax! These, my uneducated friend, are called computers."

"A box is supposed to help me gain a girl's trust." Natsume raised an eyebrow.

Hoshio nodded zealously.

"Ruka, we're leaving."

"Wait! I haven't even turned it on yet!" Hoshio protested.

"How can you turn a box on?"

Hoshio pressed the on button of the nearest screen and watched as it came to life.

Ruka jumped in shock and Natsume cursed colourfully.

"Is that an alice?" Ruka asked cautiously.

"Nooooo, didn't I already say that it's a computer?"

Hoshio logged in as Ruka and Natsume watched in amazement (Ruka) and distaste (Natsume).

"I don't get what you're doing, but as long as it can help me, I'll accept it." Natsume glared at the 'box'.

Hoshio turned to Natsume as he waited for the computer to load. "Come to think of it, how come you guys don't know about computers and stuff? Do you know about how to use any technology?"

"Tec-nol-ogy?" Ruka articulated thoughtfully. "What's that?"

Hoshio's jaw dropped as he looked at the two boys in shock. "You have no idea what a computer or technology is?! Do even know about phones?!" He asked hysterically.

Natsume's eye twitched again. "Of course we know about phones! We have a landline at the castle!"

"No! Not that type of phone! A smart phone!"

"Smart phone? How can a phone be smart?"

"H-how… Why… you…" Hoshio sniffed before taking a big breath and placing a hand onto Natsume's shoulder. "I feel for you."

Natsume's eye twitch and he kicked Hoshio's leg.

"Ow! Oi! What was that for?!"

"Being an idiot!" Natsume glared at him. "We've seen the com-put-ers now show us Google."

"Yeeees!~" Hoshio clicked the google chrome icon and the other two watched in awe as the 'Google' symbol appeared on screen. "What was the question?"

Natsume pulled up a chair and looked over Hoshio's shoulder. "How am I supposed to gain the trust of a very important girl who may or may not be the key to everything?"

Hoshio sweat-dropped and instead typed: **_How do I gain a girl's trust?_**

"That's not what I said." Natsume pointed out accusingly.

"What you said wouldn't have worked so I had to modify it a bit." Hoshio eyed him nervously.

"Hmph."

Hoshio breathed out a sigh of relief. _I'm not going to die just yet…_ He looked at the results. _Oh god. I spoke too soon._

~~~~~~~~With Youichi ~~~~~~~~

 _Damn that stupid student!_ Youichi jammed his hands into his jacket's pockets. He'd lost track of the hooded girl and her friend! It should have been impossible considering they'd only had a few seconds head start! _Well, obviously walking around aimlessly has no chance of bringing me closer to them!_

He raked his memory for some sort of clue.

 _"_ _Mikan, let's go. We have to work on our alices. I found a discarded classroom in the high school grounds that we can use."_

That was it! They were going to an unused classroom in the high school section! Now, how to get there…

Youichi looked around. There didn't seem to be any students in sight. He sighed. _I hate to use my alice for something as trivial as this._ He called up a dead ghost. It was a girl, she had black hair tied into a side pony tail with her bangs cut just above her eyebrows, her eyes were round and a dark shade of brown and her cheeks were slightly flushed.

Youichi looked in surprise unthinkingly spoke. "I've never seen a ghost blush."

The girl looked at him in surprise before smiling. His cheeks tinted pink at the realisation of what he just said. "You summoned me, master?"

"Ah. Right. Do you know how to get to the high school section?"

The girl smiled at him in response. "Yes! Please follow me!" She hovered a few inches off the ground but she still moved her legs in the imitation of walking.

"Why do you do that?" Youichi furrowed his eyebrows.

"Hmm? Is there something I'm doing wrong?" The girl asked confused.

"No. Never mind." He unfurrowed his eyebrows and took longer strides. "Let's just keep going."

After a few minutes of silence, the girl spoke up. "Master, what is your name?"

"Youichi Hijiri. And yours?"

"My name is Buta! It's a pleasure to be under your service Youichi-sama!" She smiled cheerfully.

Youichi looked at her confused. "Don't you have a last name?"

Buta shook her head. "I was an orphan. I don't know who my parents were. But I used to be under the service of Hīmemiya! My name in those days was Tachibana no Kimi!"

He nodded silently. He could tell by his alice that she had died little over a year ago.

"We're here! Beyond this gate is the High School division! I wish you well, Youichi Hijiri-sama!" Buta dissipated into the air leaving Youichi at the gate.

"Finally." Youichi said under his breath. "At least I'm a little bit closer to my goal."

He stepped through the gates and observed around him. There wasn't any major difference between the two sections. Both had grey pavement winding in every direction with little pockets of grass everywhere and the abundance of trees.

After a fair bit of wandering, in what seemed to be in circles, he came across a student. It was only by chance that Youichi had looked up and seen him sleeping in one of the tall oak trees.

 _How the hell am I meant to get up there? Why is it that the only person I find, happens to be in a tree?_

He looked around. He'd no experience climbing trees and made a mental note to learn how to later, but for now, he had to get that person down.

"Oi!" he shouted at the sleeping boy.

 _Tsk! He probably can't hear me from down here!_ He looked around him again before crouching down and picking up a rock. It was small, but when thrown right it could inflict a bit of damage.

He pulled back his arm before whipping it forward. The rock smacked into the boys cheek and the momentum of his head moving caused him to fall out of the tree.

 _Oh shit._

Youichi cringed as he heard the thud of the body hitting the ground. Hopefully he would still be in fit condition to direct him to the main campus where, hopefully, he could find the hooded girl and her friend.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL?! MISAKIIIIIII! I SWEAR IF THAT WAS YOU AGAIN I WILL PUNCH YOUR… brains out?" The blue haired boy straightened his beanie from covering his eyes and looked at the boy standing before him.

"You're not Miskai."

"Is it that obvious?" Youichi rolled his eyes.

Tsubasa smirked. "Then who are you?"

"New student. Transferred today. My name is Youichi Hijiri."

"Youichi, huh? So what are you doing in this section? Your uniform obviously doesn't match and I don't think that a teacher would send you considering your treatment of throwing rocks at unsuspecting sleeping boys in trees."

"I'm here for a mission of my own. Do you think you could help me?"

Tsubasa's eyes twinkled. _I wonder if your mission is anything like mine…_ "Sure, but just a warning, I'm fairly new here too."

Youichi stared at him. _Useless. But until I find someone else, I've got to put up with this guy. Might as well be nice about it._ "Not a problem. If you could just take me to the main campus or building that should be sufficient."

"You use pretty big words for such a small dude." Tsubasa smirked at him.

"Looks can be deceiving, now if you would please take me there now, you would have my deepest gratitude." Youichi supressed an annoyed glare whilst he laid on the formal words. _This guy sure likes to talk a lot. I hope I get there soon because from the looks of it, I won't._

"Hai. Hai. Follow me Youichi. We'll get there in no time!" Tsubasa held his hand up in the peace sign over his shoulder as he began down the path that would (hopefully) lead Youichi to the main campus and closer to his 'mission'.

~~~~~~~~15 minutes later~~~~~~~~

Youichi's eyebrow twitched. "Oi. Why the hell are we in a forest?!"

"Um… I think that we might be kinda lost." Tsubasa rubbed the back of his hands sheepishly.

"KINDA?! WE'VE BEEN WALKING IN THIS FOREST FOR TEN MINUTES!" Youichi smacked the back of Tsubasa's head.

"Sorry! I'm really sorry!" Tsubasa whimpered.

"DAMN RIGHT YOU SHOULD BE!" Youichi closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers. _WHY OF ALL PEOPLE DID I HAVE TO FIND THIS GUY WITH NO BLOODY SENSE OF DIRECTION?!_

"Uh… Youichi… is it just me or is there a building behind those trees?" Tsubasa squinted.

Youichi looked up raising his eyebrows. There was, in fact, a building in what looked to be a clearing.

"Hey, can you hear something?" Youichi inclined his head towards the building. He could hear a muffled noise getting closer.

Tsubasa shook his head. "We need to get closer. Maybe we'll even find someone who knows the way back."

 _Yes! That would be the best! If I spend any more time with his guy I'm afraid I might go insane!_ "Let's go. It's pointless to stay here."

The closer the got towards the building the louder the muffled sounds became. Youichi could make out thumps and bangs and what sounded like swearing. The features of the building also became clearer. It was a one story building that was the same colour as vomit made out of bricks. It blended in with the leaves of the surrounding trees. Unless you knew it was there it would have been difficult to see or find.

Youichi looked up at Tsubasa. How was it that this idiot could see it before he could? He narrowed his eyes. There must be more to the idiot than on the surface.

Tsubasa turned towards Youichi, feeling his gaze on him. "Hmm?" He then tripped over a rock, landing face down in a pile of leaves.

Youichi turned away. There is no possible way that this idiot could have more to him! It must have been a fluke!

They were now on the edge of the perimeter of the building and the sounds were no longer muffled.

 ** _FWACK-CK… FWACK-CK … FWACK-CK … FWACK-CK …_**

"Ow!" A shrill shout was heard.

Youichi and Tsubasa shared a look before creeping the edge of the building and peering around it.

"Did the string slap your finger again?"

There were two people, girls by the sound of their voices.

One of them was holding a bow, a quiver of arrows in a quiver slung across her back.

"I didn't do it intentionally!" The bow girl said defensively cradling her fingers.

"I don't think anyone would it intentionally." Her friend rolled her eyes. "Now give me your hand."

Without waiting, she reached over and pulled the other's hand and began putting some type of salve on it.

The bow girl hissed. "Ow… What if they were a masochist?"

"In that case, they'd get you to hit them instead of a bow." Her friend put the salve away. "Take a five minute break. It'll give some time for the salve alice to work."

"Yes!~"

"Also, next time, focus on your aim. The arrows are far from the bulls eye."

"Hey! You try firing _two_ arrows at once!"

"Stop complaining or I'll make it three."

"You're so cruel Hotaru!"

Youichi frowned. Hotaru? As in Hotaru Imai? That's impossible. The Imai family were loyal only to the Yukihara family-

His eyes widened and he looked at the other person. Could it possibly be? Then it's true: Mikan is still alive! And that means that that person with Hotaru must be Mikan!

Mikan straightened up suddenly. _Someone's watching me!_ She turned to Hotaru as she walked by.

"Are you an idiot? Did you only just notice their presence? Follow my lead." Hotaru whispered by her ear.

Mikan flushed slightly. It wasn't _her_ fault she couldn't detect peoples presence! She wasn't taught to do such things! Wait a moment. Follow her lead?

"Hey Mikan," Hotaru called, loud enough for the person to hear. "How confident are you with your aim with one arrow right now?"

Mikan hesitated before replying. "Fairly confident."

"So if I tell you to aim for the trees on the other side of the building, you'll be able to hit every target I tell you?"

Mikan's lips curled into a smile. "I'm positive."

Youichi and Tsubasa panicked. They knew they were there! Or at least if they didn't, they were about to find out!

Youichi quickly and silently summoned a ghost, motioning it to keep quiet as it opened its mouth. He somehow managed to communicate with it to get it to take him towards the roof.

As soon as he was up there he noticed the problem. Tsubasa was still down there, and panicking quite amusingly.

Youichi swore under his breath. This was bad. This was very bad. There was no way Tsubasa was going to be able to hide himself in time.

Tsubasa looked up at Youichi. It was obvious from the look on Youichi's face that he clearly had no idea what to do to help him.

Tsubasa bit back a curse and looked around. Shadows…SHADOWS! They were on the shadowy side of the building which mean that his alice could come into effect.

He activated it and felt the tingling sensation enter his body. He reached for the shadows and the enveloped him as if it were a blanket just as Mikan and Hotaru reached where he was standing just seconds before.

Hotaru narrowed her eyes when she reached the spot Tsubasa had been. _I swear someone was just here. The fact that they're gone can either mean they were frightened by us or that they were our enemies. Taking into account the situation with Mikan being the Yukihara heir, there is also the case where they know her true identity and are instead planning to observe. This could mean that…*blah blah blah* …In that case, the best thing to do would be to continue training and see what happens: even if it does put Mikan at risk._ _ **(A/N: She thought all of this in 0.3 seconds.)**_

Hotaru leaned over to Mikan's ear and whispered. "Sorry Mikan. For now I need you to act as bait."

A slight inclination in the head was all that Hotaru needed to know. She reached into her pocket and wrapped her fingers around one of her new devices.

"Ah! I must have been wrong!" Hotaru proclaimed loudly. "It must have a stray cat or something."

Hotaru threw the floaty camera into the air as she pretended to stretch. "Mikan. Go continue training. I'm just going to go the toilet."

"Yep!" Mikan smiled in what she hoped was a cheery and bubbly manner. It was harder to act like yourself when you try to.

Hotaru entered the building and walked into the girl's lavatory. For good measure, she went into one of the stalls and locked the door. From her pocket, she pulled out another device which allowed her to see a live feed of the floaty camera, which was still floating in the air where she tossed it.

It showed Mikan practising her shooting by herself. (She noted that she'd have to scold the girl for shooting not two arrows but one.)

Hotaru toggled the camera's angle to face the building where she had previously been staring at.

Something was moving in the shadows, it had a human-like figure. As it emerged from the darkness, it took the form of an older boy with navy coloured hair wearing a beanie with a star shaped tattoo under his eye.

Was he a manifestation of shadow? Or did he possess a shadow alice or something of the like?

Hotaru continued to ponder this as she watched the screen. Wait. Why did that person look so familiar? Hotaru narrowed her eyes when the information about him came back to her. How could she forget? Tsubasa Ando: friend of Natsume Hyuuga. Came with him to Gakuen Alice and is possibly also looking to find out Mikan's real identity. That means that they know?

Tsubasa started making wild motions to something above him. Hotaru moved the camera's angle again and saw another boy floating.

Hotaru's eyes narrowed in recognition. The new student. Youichi Hijiri. Were these two working together? Come to think of it, Youichi had come later than Natsume and his posse. Could he possibly be back-up that Natsume sent for? But that would mean that they had discovered Mikan's identity. But then he would have had to acknowledge Natsume. He didn't seem to have had that kind of expected reaction.

Wait. Hijiri? Where have I heard that name before? Hotaru skimmed the information inside her head until she remembered.

The Hijiri family. They were a generations old family dedicated to serving the Yukihara linage. Was this the reason why he transferred. The Hijiri's were famous for their ability to differentiate different peoples auras and could pick out who was who based on it.

That would mean that he was on their side. Hotaru smirked and pocketed the device before exiting the bathroom.

This should be interesting.

 ** _OMG! I am so sorry for not updating in so long! I have had more than half of this chapter written since when I posted the last chapter but I just haven't had any time to write the rest! I'm sorry! I've had to participate in a nation-wide testing program and I feel like I've died._**

 ** _Also! This is IMPORTANT!  
I'm looking for a Beta-reader! Although I am a Beta-reader myself, I tend not to be able to pick up the mistakes I make! I need someone who can do that for me and also push me to keep writing because I feel like if someone isn't hounding me down to write more, this story won't get finished until 2020!_**

 ** _Thank you!_**

 ** _-Author-san_**


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